Hints on Vegetable and Fruit Farming. 
87 
planting orchards is one of the thirteen improvements of the 
first class, which continue unexhausted for twenty years, and it 
would give a stimulus to fruit-planting if tenants could be 
guaranteed compensation even at this rate, which, however, is 
not by any means adequate in the case of apple, pear, and 
cherry-trees. The uncertainties of land-tenure have much hin- 
dered the increase of fruit-land. Some few tenants who are of 
a confiding nature and have " long leases and practical land- 
lords," as a large fruit-grower remarked lately, do plant fruit- 
trees ; but most tenants are bound to require something more 
than this before they thus improve the property of other persons. 
To make fruit-plantations, and apple, pear, plum, and cherry- 
orchards especially, is to improve land in an extraordinary 
degree, more particularly in these days, and owners of land 
should encourage this by taking upon themselves a fair share of 
the cost, and by guaranteeing just compensation. 
Supposing all difficulties of this kind adjusted, the farmer 
willing to try fruit-growing cannot do better than plant red 
currant, or black currant, or gooseberry-bushes, either by them- 
selves or with standard or half-standard apple-trees among them, 
or plum- and damson-trees, or pear-trees, according to circum- 
stances. He must select a fairly good soil and the best-sheltered 
situation. 
Gooseberry and red currant-bushes do well on light, porous 
land or in good loam and clay-loams. Black currants require a 
deep soil, retentive of moisture, and will thrive in all the better 
descriptions of clay land. These bushes should be set 6 feet 
apart each way, which would take 1210 bushes. The land 
should be well manured and deeply steam ploughed, or ploughed 
deeply, with a subsoil-plough following. If standards are put 
in they should be set, if apple-trees, from 24 to 30 feet apart 
each way, which would give 75 and 48 trees respectively 
per acre. Plum- and damson-trees would be put about 15 feet 
apart each way, or 193 trees per acre. Should no standards 
be planted, the bushes may be put feet apart each way, 
giving 1440 to the acre. Upon strong land black currants 
should be set 6 feet apart, as their growth is very luxuriant. 
GOOSEBEREIES. — The plants are easily raised by taking 
straight pieces of the cuttings 8 inches in length from the 
bushes, and setting them in rows, in a nursery in the autumn, 
without taking out any of the eyes, or buds. In two years they 
will be fit to plant out if carefully tended, and in two years 
after they will have fruit worth picking. Good plants can be 
bought in fruit-growing districts at from 6s. Qd. to 125. per 100. 
Pruning is done from October until the end of January. The 
rank-growing shoots and branches are cut away, and a moderate 
