384 
The  Progress  of  Fruit  Farming. 
is  being  altered.  A few  landowners  and  tenants  are  setting  an 
example  which,  it  is  hoped,  may  be  generally  followed.  Here 
and  there,  also,  fruit-bushes  have  been  planted,  chiefly  goose- 
berries and  black  currants,  which  thrive  remarkably  well  in  the 
better  soils  of  this  county.  The  recent  plantations  of  fruit  in 
Gloucester  principally  consist  of  plum  and  damson-trees,  with 
black  currants  and  gooseberry-bushes  planted  under  them.  In 
Kent,  also,  plum  and  damson-trees  of  the  Crittenden  sort  have 
been  extensively  planted  with  gooseberry  and  red-currant-bushes 
upon  the  lighter  soils,  and  black-currant-bushes  upon  those  more 
heavy  and  clayey.  A good  deal  of  land  has  been  planted  with 
black  currants  in  the  Weald  of  Kent.  Cherry  orchards  have  been 
extended  in  East  Kent,  and  apple-trees  have  been  put  in  in 
various  parts  of  the  county.  The  cultivation  of  raspberries  has 
largely  increased,  especially  in  the  Sevenoaks  and  Farningham 
district,  and  in  that  near  London,  where  strawberries  are  also 
abundantly  grown.  Near  Southampton  large  additions  have 
been  made  to  the  strawberry  plantations,  and  the  cultivation  of 
this  fruit  is  increasing  in  Cheshire,  Cornwall,  and  Scotland, 
and  in  other  districts  remote  from  towns.  The  facilities  of 
railway  transport  render  it  possible  to  supply  customers  at  long 
distances  with  fresh  fruit  packed,  in  boxes  containing  punnets. 
In  a most  interesting  and  instructive  work  recently  published 
in  America,  entitled  ‘ Truck  Farming  at  the  South,’*  it  is  stated 
that  in  Norfolk,  Virginia,  the  largest  strawberry  farm  in  the 
world  is  located,  one  cultivator  having  250  acres  planted  with 
this  fruit.  Shipments  are  made  to  New  York  and  other 
Northern  towns,  and  high  prices  are  made,  as  the  fruit  comes 
early. 
A favourite  way  of  planting  fruit  on  the  heavier  Kentish 
soils  is  to  put  apple  and  damson-trees  alternately  with  hops, 
the  trees  being  18  feet  apart  in  the  rows,  and  the  rows  24  feet 
apart.  After  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  the  hops  are  grubbed,  and 
the  land  is  laid  down  to  permanent  pasture.  This  is  a good 
method  on  land  where  hops  will  not  do  well  for  more  than 
for  fifteen  to  twenty  years,  as  in  parts  of  the  Weald  of  Kent, 
Herefordshire,  Sussex,  and  Worcestershire.  In  some  cases  bush 
trees,  or  dwarf  trees  of  apples,  pears,  plums,  damson,  and  cherries 
have  been  planted,  and  the  practice  is  gradually  extending.  It 
is  being  adopted  by  fruit-growers  near  London,  and  generally  in 
gardens  where  vegetables  are  grown,  and  to  some  extent  by 
lruit-farmers.  These,  as  well  as  pyramids,  take  up  but  little 
space,  come  into  bearing  directly,  and  grow  fine  fruit.  As  a 
* ‘ Truck  Farming  at  the  South.  A Guide  to  the  raising  of  Vegetables  for 
Northern  Markets.’  By  Ur.  Oeniler.  New  York,  1883. 
