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of fruit in the market, just treated of; there is great scope for individual energy in the preservation 
of table fruit. This may be done in a variety of ways. Apples and Pears may simply be dried 
whole ; as, for example, the Herefordshire Beefing , the Norfolk Beefing , &c. : they may be peeled, 
cored, and the flesh dried in the form of “ apple chips,” “apple cuttings,” or “apple rings,” as the 
Americans call them : they maybe preserved with syrup in tins ; or they may be converted into jelly. 
All these preparations may be easily made without the need for any great capital ; and when made, 
they will give a good profit, and keep well to supply the deficiencies of failing years. 
Herefordshire, Devonshire, and Somersetshire, and other districts, capable of producing 
Cider and Perry of good quality, have a peculiar advantage in the possession of a branch of 
agricultural industry that may be made very remunerative. It is one the least likely to be interfered 
with by the fluctuations of ordinary trade, and has therefore with proper care, only the seasons to 
contend with. The present state of our legislature is most favourable to its extension, since there 
are no longer any restrictions on its produce by taxation ; nor yet on its sale direct from the 
Orchards : whilst as regards foreign competition, there is no probability that the supply for our 
home consumption can be seriously interfered with, for this, if for no other reason, that beverages 
which only contain so slight a proportion of Alcohol are readily susceptible of refermentation, from 
the constant shaking incident on conveyance from a distance. 
It would greatly conduce to the improvement of Orchard culture if the Agricultural Societies 
in the special fruit districts would take up the subject, hold annual exhibitions of fruit, and offer 
prizes for the best collections. Agricultural meetings are always held conveniently in the Autumn, 
and such exhibitions of fruit could scarcely fail to prove attractive, and they would certainly spread a 
knowledge which would lead to the growth of the superior varieties of fruit. 
The theory and practice of horticulture and fruit growing might also be introduced with 
great advantage as a Science subject into our country Elementary Schools, as was most successfully 
done many years since by the late Professor Henslow, in his village school in Cambridgeshire. 
In these respects English Schools are far behind those on the Continent. There, elementary 
instruction in Horticulture is aided, as it should be, by manual work in the garden ; and to the 
growth of vegetables and herbs and flowers is added the practice of budding, grafting and pruning 
of fruit trees. This excellent practice could not fail to produce a much more extended interest in 
the production of the best varieties of fruit; as the knowledge of how to bud a rose briar has 
introduced many of the most beautiful roses into the Herefordshire cottage gardens. 
Landlord and Tenant are alike interested in the utmost development of our Home Industries. 
The greatest attention must be paid to the special products of every district. Great competition 
must be met by high cultivation, by economy, and by intelligent, persevering industry. The land 
must be managed, if not in the letter, yet in the economic spirit of John Stuart Mill, who pointed as 
an illustration to the cabbage of the French proprietor, so carefully dug round, watered, and 
manured ; so individualized in short, as though the whole profit of the farm centred in that one single 
vegetable. By thus paying greater attention to minute details, the farm may become, what it 
ought to be, in these days of competitive agriculture in both hemispheres, a duplicate of the garden 
on a large scale. 
