December 31, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
167 
c< practice with science ” will enable us to be independent of dung. 
This isithe more desirable, because I hold the opinion, that instead of 
our trees bearing good crops every alternate year, they should by the 
aid of manure produce as a rule good average yearly crops, and that 
would be one way of avoiding seasons of alternating glut and famine— 
extremes of low and high prices. The proper use of manure should be 
to develop the strength of the tree, so as not only to produce fine fruit 
one year, but to forward the maturity of the wood (especially in years 
of low temperature) which has to build up the next season’s buds. 
Every year will, however, add to our knowledge on this point. Mean¬ 
while this is I think what we should aim at. 
There is a point as to which my theory has been so far better than my 
.practice. I am of opinion that all small and imperfect fruit should be 
picked off so soon as proof of their being inferior is clear. By that 
process the size of the remaining fruit will be increased, and there will 
be less labour in grading for market, and a higher average of price, but 
great courage is needed to do this. 
I would now pass to the question, What class of person must the 
fruit grower of the future be ? This is a very debateable matter. Who¬ 
ever he be, he must have plenty of capital and backbone, he will find 
ample need of both. The farmer is not qualified by his technical educa¬ 
tion, and of recent years his outgoings have been so much in excess of 
his incomings, that it is more than doubtful whether capital would be 
forthcoming. A separate class must come into existence, whether of 
gardeners who could get sufficient capital to work a few acres, or a com¬ 
bination of the capitalist to furnish the sinews of war, and the gardener 
to supply the rest. Even then the matter is not very simple, because the 
gardener must not only be capable as such, but he must be able to con¬ 
duct all the various steps necessary, from selecting and planting the trees, 
to packing and marketing the fruit. In fact you require an all-round 
man, and where is he to be found in quantity ? He has to be raised, and 
no doubt will be in time. As to the sorts to be selected, and many other 
matters, I would refer you to a little pamphlet just issued by the Royal 
Horticultural Society, and which embodies the opinions of forty able 
authorities on all points of fruit growing, and I only demur to two of 
their recommendations. It recommends planting the Blenheim Pippin. 
To which I say “ Don’t.” Life is not long enough ; and it gives too many 
sorts, A little time will be well spent in finding out those which suit 
the soil and climate, and then have the courage to resist the inclination 
to buy more than half a dozen varieties. What consumers want is a 
regular supply of so far as can be of the best sorts. As to early or late 
kinds of Apples, it is an open question. 
Our supply should come in before the American and Canadian ship¬ 
ments interfere with them, and after the best of them have gone into 
consumption, avoiding also competition with the Tasmanian imports, 
some of which are excellent. There is less expense with the early sorts, 
as they go directly into consumption from the trees, whereas the late 
kinds must be housed, and there is some loss by rotting, and also in 
weight, still the enhanced price of the late kinds may compensate. 
Whatever the sort, they should be carefully handled and honestly 
packed. When I was at the Edinburgh Show a fruiterer said 
to me, “ It does not suit us to buy English fruit, as you cannot 
depend upon it ; usually there is a good sample on the top, and a lot of 
rubbish underneath ; now with the American Apples it is different, 
they are of one quality throughout.” What a short-sighted policy this 
shows on the part of English growers, and how it involves all of us in 
an undeserved suspicion of rascality ; you may depend upon it that 
honest packing will meet with its reward. 
Local trade should receive more attention. There are places where 
growers sent supplies to Covent Garden, while at the same time local 
retailers supply themselves from that centre. Wherever your produce 
goes, let it be carefully selected with regard to quality, size, and appear¬ 
ance ; every producer will have his own ideas as to markets and sales¬ 
men. We are guided more by the salesman than by the market, and 
believing our salesman is an honest man — which I am sorry to say 
cannot be said of all — the bulk of our fruit comes to Manchester. 
Well, supposing all to be gathered in, the moment has arrived for looking 
over results and facing facts as to fruit-growing for profit; possibly in 
the course of the year you have built castles in the air which are never 
realised. If you can secure a fair price the result would be very satis¬ 
factory ; but how about a year such as the present, when Plums and 
Pears have been a perfect glut? Let us look practically into the 
matter. On the one hand we have to pay rent, tithes, rates, taxes, 
interest on capital, labour, manuring, railway carriage, tolls, porterage, 
and salesmen’s commission. On the other hand are our receipts. 
Owing to the frost on the 16th of May our Plum and Pear crop has 
been small. Our Apple crop has, however, turned what would have 
been an actual loss into profit. The size of what Plums we had was, 
according to our salesman, Al, and yet the top price was only 7s. 
per cwt., or say fd. per lb. Of that the railway company took about Jd. 
per lb. or one-third of the gross value. Pears have been very dis¬ 
appointing ; a large grower told me that he sold his W. Bon Chretien at 
6s. per cwt., the sample being good, many of the fruit weighing I lb. 
each. After paying railway and other expenses little is left for the 
grower. The ways of the railway company are incomprehensible. They 
charge us 38s. 4d. per ton for Plums for preserving purposes, and 
26s. 8d. per ton for Apples, a difference of nearly 12s. per ton. Why ? 
Partly encouraged by low preferential railway rates, and partly owing 
to the low price of labour, which is some countries half the price of 
ours, foreigners have not only established a large trade with this 
country, but are straining every nerve to increase their production. 
Still, in spite of all, I am sure there is a future for fruit growing. 
Englishmen, as a rule, are fond of grumbling at their climate—mainly, 
perhaps, because they are not obliged to live in another. Is there any 
other climate which grows finer men and women, finer horses, cattle, 
and sheep, finer crops of grains,jfiner vegetables and fruit ? H that be so, 
does it not prove that, take it all in all, there is not much ground for 
grumbling? In 1889 I sent up Apples to Govent Garden, and the sales¬ 
man reported that no such fruit had been seen there that season. This 
year I have sent Peasgood’s Nonesuch Apples to Manchester, which have 
sold at 30s. per cwt. Our salesman, Mr. John Mills, said they were the 
best grown Apples in England or America, and that on the same date 
the best American Apples (Ribston Pippins) sold in Liverpool at 24s. 
per barrel of 140 lbs., or 19s. 3d. per cwt. There is, therefore, no ground 
to despair, but there is abundant reason to be certain that such results 
can only be attained under the most favourable conditions. There is 
much to be said against putting all our eggs in one basket. Damsons 
will do admirably as bush trees, and are excellent to plant for shelter 
of other crops, and they have paid better than Plums this year. With 
soft fruits we possess a great advantage over our Continental rivals, as 
they cannot put such goods on our markets in a presentable condition. 
Green Gooseberries I do not include amongst soft fruits, and the French 
send large supplies keeping down our prices. Black Currants and Rasp¬ 
berries are very easy to grow, and if the cultivation is good they are 
remunerative. For fine fruit cleanly gathered there is always a good 
demand. 
Strawberries have been so extensively planted of late years that they 
do not fetch such prices as they did, and it is an open question if it will 
pay to add much more to the enormous quantity already under cultiva¬ 
tion, as the demand cannot be unlimited. However, by growing a variety 
of crops, it must be a wretched season indeed if all fail. I have now been 
through my subject. It is in no way my wish to discourage fruit grow¬ 
ing on sound principles. I have spoken frankly on my own experience, 
and have shown you both sides of the picture. I have not the smallest 
doubt that when fruit growers have selected the right spot to plant the 
right sort of trees, where they have sufficient capital, average intelli¬ 
gence, and untiring perseverance, they will succeed. I am equally 
certain that numbers of those who have started these undertakings 
without the above elements of success will hopelessly fail, and, as a 
matter of fact, some are already falling out of the race. The universal 
law of Nature is invariable—the law of the survival of the fittest .—(From 
the Manchester Conference Report .) 
THE ASHFORD YINEYARD. 
Messrs. A. & J. Qtjertier have, under the able management of 
Mr. Stephen Castle, made the Ashford Vineyards famous throughout 
these isles for the grand crops of Tomatoes and Grapes that are grown 
there. All the houses are built on the Jersey principle—light, commo¬ 
dious, and well ventilated, but the heating is open to improvement. 
The season throughout has been against Grape culture in unheated 
structures, and those defectively heated have suffered correspondingly. 
The ground on which these houses have been placed has a gentle slope 
to the south, and is fairly well sheltered from the north and east, but 
exposed to the west winds. The work of describing these houses is 
simplified by every house being numbered. Nos. 1 and 2 are mixed 
houses, and call for no particular comment other than the Vines were 
planted in 1890 and 1891 respectively, and are carrying a few bunches 
for the first time. The varieties are Hamburghs and Gros Maroc. In the 
No. 2 house Tomatoes are grown in pots, which are set on each side of 
the path and trained to strings up to the roof, and have done remark¬ 
ably well as the stalls will show ; but when we come to No. 3 one might 
linger and look on in such a house fora very long time without wearying. 
This house was planted in March, 1890, with Muscat of Alexandria, not 
cut-backs, and now with the Vines but a little more than a year planted 
are carrying from four to ten bunches of Grapes from each, some of the 
bunches weighing 5 lbs. The success here attained is of no ordinary 
character, and a few more particulars respecting this house and the 
borders may prove of interest. 
The house itself was originally a Cucumber house, and ha3 bottom 
heat pipes beneath the border, being the return from the top pipes 
which heat the atmosphere. If the one is to be heated the other must be 
also. The border in which these Vines are growing is not more than 
9 inches deep, and was during the early stages of their growth confined 
to a width of 3 feet, but is now allowed a run of 5 feet or a little less. 
With such a border and heat beneathiwatering must be attended to with 
judgment. It will be of considerable interest to myself, probably to 
others, to watch the behaviour of these Muscats in heated borders, as the 
idea is not new, for I believe some such arrangements were made many 
years ago at The Denbies, Dorking, and for a time very fine Muscats were 
grown, and the heated border had the credit for it, but when others 
others adopted it they were not so successful. On inquiring of Mr. 
Castle whether he had any faith in bottom heat, and whether he had 
any fear of the Vines going back after a time, he was very sanguine of 
its good, and hoped I should see them again another year, and his 
manner left no doubt as to what his expectations were—viz., that they 
would be better than they are now. 
No. 4 is also a span-roof, and was planted on one side in 1889 with 
several kinds, there being Vines of Black Hamburgh, Madresfield Court, 
Black Alicante, Gros Colman, and one or two Gros Maroc. These 
Vines were also remarkable for the weight of Grapes they were carry¬ 
ing. They are allowed to carry a bunch, whether large or small, to 
