386 
The  Progress  of  Fruit  Farming. 
are  highly  esteemed  for  preserving.  Gooseberry-bushes  number 
130,000,  and  consist  of  no  less  than  45  varieties.  Those,  how- 
ever, which  have  been  planted  for  the  main  crop  are  the  War- 
rington, Lancashire  Lad,  Lancashire  Prize,  Crown  Bob,  and 
Whitesmith.  No  less  than  228,000  black-currant-bushes  have 
been  put  in  of  the  leading  kinds,  such  as  Lee’s  Prolific,  Bald- 
win’s Black,  Black  Naples,  and  Prince  of  Wales.  Black  currants 
appear  to  thrive  well  in  the  soil  and  climate  of  Toddington,  and 
bid  fair  to  be  fertile  sources  of  profit,  for  no  fruit  is  in  greater 
demand,  or  gives  a better  return,  when  the  bushes  are  planted 
on  suitable  land  and  properly  managed.  The  raspberries  are 
chiefly  Carter’s  Falstaff ; and  the  red  currants  the  Raby  Castle 
and  Scotch  Red.  Those  who  know  anything  about  fruit-growing 
will  say  that  nothing  could  be  more  judicious  than  the  selection 
of  the  sorts  of  the  various  fruits ; and  those  who  have  seen  the 
manner  in  which  the  plantation  has  been  formed,  the  cultivation, 
the  Jam  Factory — which  has  been  described  above,  making  the 
grower  independent  of  markets — and  the  general  arrangements, 
hold  that  nothing  could  have  been  better  conceived  and  carried 
out.  It  is  unique.  There  is  nothing  like  it  in  this  country  in 
point  of  extent  and  order.  There  may  possibly  be  larger  fruit 
farms  in  America,  but  none  like  it,  as  it  were,  in  a ring  fence, 
and  with  such  a varied  assortment  of  fruits.  Belts  of  poplars, 
Scotch  firs,  and  other  quick-growing  trees  have  been  placed 
round  the  plantation  to  shelter  it  from  the  prevailing  winds. 
Beds  of  osiers  have  been  formed  on  the  banks  of  the  little  stream 
Isbourne,  which  have  taken  so  well  that  all  the  baskets  required 
for  the  fruit  are  now  made  on  the  estate.  Ten  acres  more  are  to 
be  planted  at  once  with  osiers.  A nursery  for  raising  trees  and 
bushes  has  been  formed  in  a convenient  and  well-sheltered  spot, 
where  standards,  pyramids,  bush-trees  of  all  sorts  and  sizes  are 
seen,  well-grown,  well-trained,  and  worked  upon  the  most  ap- 
proved stocks,  as  well  as  all  descriptions  of  fruit-bushes.  This  is 
most  economical  in  the  first  cost  of  the  trees,  and  prevents  possible 
loss  and  disappointment  through  getting  trees  that  are  not  true  to 
name,  or  that  have  been  badly  worked  and  trained,  and  starved 
on  poor  land,  or  land  exhausted  by  continuous  cropping.  It  is  a 
great  mistake  to  think  that  it  is  better  to  have  young  fruit-trees 
and  bushes  from  poor  soils.  Like  all  young  things  under  the 
sun,  they  require  generous  nurture,  or  they  become  stunted  and 
prone  to  canker  and  premature  decay.  The  owner  of  this 
plantation  got  his  fruit-trees  from  the  very  best  sources  and 
paid  full  prices,  and  is  rewarded  by  having  a perfectly  vigorous 
and  healthy  lot  of  trees  and  bushes  ; so  much  so,  that  at  this 
time,  among  the  40,000  plum  and  damson-trees,  there  are  not 
five  in  a thousand  that  have  gone  wrong.  The  selection  of 
