521 
Fanning in Devon dwl Cornwall. 
After the crop had been removed the land would be har- 
rowed, and cauliflower and broccoli plants put in as soon as 
rain had come. 
Orchards. 
The cultivation and management of these is an important 
element in the farming of certain portions of the two counties, 
though it does not receive that general care and attention which 
it deserves. Pitiable, indeed, is the state of many of the orchards, 
with their fences broken down, pruning neglected, trees full of 
dead wood and qiiite hoary with the growth of lichen and moss, 
with other evidences of neglect too numerous to mention. Yet 
in many individual instances the pecuniary returns from 
orchards form a material portion of the profits of the farm. 
The Devonshire Pomological Society has, since its foundation 
in 1884, done something to bring about a better state of things. 
It has drawn attention to the recognised best sorts of apples 
and pears, whilst its shows, at which 12,000 fruits have some- 
times been exhibited, have stimulated efforts to improve their 
growth and cultivation. 
The Agricultural Returns for 1889 show the orchards in 
Devonshire as extending to 26,555 acres, or an increase of 
about 550 acres in the decade. In Cornwall in the same period 
the acreage returned rose from 4,842 to 5.092 acres. The bulk 
of the produce is made into cider, though of late years the 
growth and sale of table apples for dessert and culinary pur- 
poses has received attention. The average annual value of the 
produce is estimated roughly at 10/. per acre, but this is 
considerably exceeded on farms where due attention and skill 
are devoted to the subject. Instances are known of returns of 
three or four times that amount from individual orchards in 
favourable seasons. Every farm has its orchard or orchards on 
a more or less extensive scale. The largest percentages are, 
however, to be found in the districts around Totnes, Exeter, 
Crediton, and Moreton Hampstead. and in the valleys of the 
Clist and Creedy. Here the climate and soil are most favour- 
able to the growth of apples, and it is not uncommon to find 
from 30 to 40 acres of orchards upon a farm, although they are 
mostly in small detached portions of 2 or 3 acres, or even less, 
apiece, planted on sheltered slopes and hollows. One farm at 
Langridge has about 100 acres of orchards in a large number of 
small enclosures. 
The apple crop, like all other fruit crops, is an uncertain and 
precarious one ; but on an average of seasons it can be made 
very remunerative where proper and intelligent management is 
