144 
February  15,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  ARfJJ  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
FRUIT  PRODUCTION— DRYING  PLUMS. 
A  TRULY  admirable  article  is  that  on  page  91.  Your  versatile 
•correspondent  “A.  D.”  touches  on  various  points  in  a  thoroughly 
practical  way,  and  brings  to  bear  on  them  a  goodly  share  of  that 
invaluable  element,  common  sense.  Whether  his  concluding  proposi¬ 
tion  is  such  an  important  essential  as  he  suggests  is  a  matter  on  which 
all  persons  who  are  interested  in  the  subject  of  our  home  fruit  supply 
will  not,  perhaps,  be  equally  agreed,  at  least  if  he  means  to  say  that 
nothing  really  worthy  of  meeting  the  exigencies  of  the  case  will  be 
provided  until  his  plan  is  carried  out  in  its  integrity.  A  “big”  con¬ 
ception  indeed  it  is,  but  if  we  wait  for  its  realisation  we  shall  only,  it  is 
to  be  feared,  be  opening  the  door  still  more  widely  to  Californian, 
Continental,  and  other  fruit  growers  and  dealers  to  make  up  the 
deficiency  of  our  home  supplies  ;  still  there  stands  the  great  educational 
idea  worthily  registered  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture. 
Nursery  Teaching. 
Nothing  is  more  true  than  the  scarcity  of  men  who  possess  the 
requisite  qualifications  for  managing  successfully  large  undertakings 
for  supplying  our  markets  with  fruit  of  the  first  quality  and  in  varied 
forms  that  shall  at  once  be  profitable  to  producers  and  satisfactory  to 
consumers.  '  Men  of  the  stamp  required  cannot  be  taught  in  nurseries 
where  trees  are  raised  for  other  persons  to  grow  and  deal  with  the 
fruit  they  may  bear.  Instruction  in  budding,  grafting,  and  the  forma¬ 
tion  of  trees  in  their  infantile  state  can  be  acquired  in  those  establish¬ 
ments,  but  that  is  merely  touching  the  fringe  of  the  subject  as  regarded 
in  its  entirety,  and  with  the  varied  eventualities  which  must  be  antici¬ 
pated  and  provided  for. 
School  and  College  Teaching. 
Nor  can  men  or  women  of  little  or  no  experience  be  adequately 
taught  what  is  requisite  to  be  known  on  the  important  industry  in 
question  in  any  schools  or  colleges  at  present  established  in  this 
country.  It  is  true  that  some  of  the  scientific  teachers  in  such  estab¬ 
lishments  may,  by  gleaning  from  books  and  picking  up  hints  from 
practical  men,  formulate  theories  and  lay  down  general  principles  more 
or  less  sound  ;  but  their  training  does  not  fit  them  to  be  efficient 
teachers  on  an  essentially  practical  subject  of  the  important  nature 
indicated. 
Training  Stations. 
There  may  be  a  few  young  fruit  trees  in  the  grounds  attached  to 
some  educational  institutions,  and  when  these  trees  are  in  the  hands 
of  skilled  cultivators  useful  lessons  can  be  derived  from  them  in  a 
preparatory  way.  There  are  small  fruit  stations  belonging  to  some 
of  our  County  Councils,  and  though  these  may  be  of  great  service 
locally  to  owners  of  private  gardens,  they  are  quite  inadequate  for 
extensive  commercial  work  such  as  “  A.  D  ”  has  in  view.  A  good  deal 
was  heard  at  one  time  about  the  Duke  of  Bedford’s  experimental  fruit 
farm,  or  whatever  it  is,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  there  is  much  valuable 
practical  information  in  store.  What  little  has  been  published  in  the 
gardening  Press  so  far  has  been  of  no  real  service  to  workers. 
Oathering,  counting,  and  weighing  the  leaves,  and  shading  trees  with 
canvas  blinds  are,  from  the  commercial  fruit  grower’s  point  of  view, 
mere  puerilities,  and  can  only  prove,  if  they  prove  anything,  what  has 
been  known  for  years  by  experienced  men.  Almost  any  amount  of 
money  may  be  spent  in  proving  facts  which  have  long  existed.  The 
real  substantial  want  of  the  times  is  the  demonstration  of  methods 
of  obtaining  the  greatest  value  in  fruit  from  cultivated  trees  at  the 
least  outlay  in  producing  it. 
Schools  of  Practice. 
Viewing  the  industry  of  market,  or  commercial,  gardening  broadly, 
or  as  embracing  the  cultivation  of  fruits,  vegetables,  and  flowers  in  the 
open  air  and  under  glass,  there  are  no  doubt  many  hundreds  of  persons 
who  have  solved  the  problem  above  stated,  and  some  of  them  in  conse¬ 
quence  made  little  (or  great)  fortunes.  Where  did  they  gain  the 
experience  that  enabled  to  do  so  ?  Can  a  solitary  instance  be  quoted 
where  it  has  been  obtained  by  theoretical  or  scientific  teaching  alone  or 
mainly  .?  Without  any  attempt,  or  desire,  to  undervalue  such  teaching, 
the  fact  has  still  to  be  recorded  that  nine  out  of  ten,  or  ninety-nine  out 
of  a  hundred,  of  our  most  brilliantly  successful  men  in  any,  or  all,  those 
occupations,  have  derived  the  knowledge  that  made  them  what  they  are 
from  the  stern  school  of  practice.  The  fruit  growers  of  Kent  and 
Hereford,  the  Grape,  Cucumber,  Tomato  and  flower  growers  of  Herts 
and  Sussex,  and  the  vegetable  growers  of  Middlesex,  have  taught  each 
other,  so  to  say,  on  the  land  and  in  the  market,  nowhere  else,  and  there 
are  no  better  or  more  successful  growers  in  the  world  than  they. 
National  and  County  Stations. 
If  “A.  D.’’  were  not  very  much  of  this  opinion  he  would  scarcely 
have  advocated  such  a  large  and  comprehensive  national  school  of 
practice  as  the  one  referred  to  of  200  acres  with  all  necessary  equip¬ 
ments  for  carrying  out  the  objects  in  view.  But  who  is  to  found  it  ? 
No  society  is  strong  enough  to  do  so.  The  Government,  according  to 
all  past  history  and  present  prospects,  will  not  do  so,  and  it  would  be 
little  short  of  a  miracle  if  any  combination  of  County  Councils  could  bo 
effected  to  carry  out  any  such  great  central  scheme.  Whether  in  lieu 
of  several  small  educational  fruit  plots  in  various  districts  it  would  not 
be  better  to  have  one  large  county  station  is  a  matter  worthy  of  con¬ 
sideration,  if  it  has  not  already  been  considered.  From  a  commercial 
point  of  view,  or  as  affording  experience  for  training  fruit  farmers  snd 
purveyors  an  area  of  ten  acres  with  all  necessary  accessories  would 
obviously  possess  advantages  which  must  be  lacking  in  small  experi¬ 
mental  plots,  while  these  might  be  the  more  useful  to  a  greater  number 
of  private  growers  who  could  attend  and  derive  practical  lessons  from 
them.  If  twenty  counties  were  to  provide  areas  of  ten  acres  this  would 
be  equivalent  to  the  200  acres  suggested.  The  difficulty  in  establishing 
them  on  this  divisional  system  would  be  reduced,  while  it  is  not 
improbable  the  benefits  derivable  would  be  increased.  But  to  be  of 
real  and  actual  service  a  thoroughly  sound  practical  man  should  have 
control  and  be  unshackled  by  a  straight  laced  scientist,  who  might 
easily  waste  both  time  and  money  in  experiments  for  his  own  infor¬ 
mation  and  gaining  knowledge  already  possessed  by  an  experienced 
cultivator.  Though  competent  men  are  scarce  there  would  not  be  much 
difficulty  in  finding  ten  or  even  twice  that  number  by  the  offer  of 
adequate  remuneration. 
Work  and  Win. 
Still,  in  the  matter  of  increased  cultivation  of  fruit  for  the  ever 
increasing  multitude  of  consumers,  there  must  be  no  waiting  for  even 
the  county  training  grounds  propounded.  They  may  never  come  to 
pass.  How,  then,  is  the  required  experience  to  be  obtained  ?  It  must 
be  had  in  the  same  way  as  those  who  possess  it  now  obtained  theirs — 
namely,  by  individual  effort,  close  study,  intelligent  observation,  and 
persevering  work.  There  is  no  other  safe  and  sound  procedure ;  no 
quick  and  easy  way  of  becoming  expert  in  the  important  work  in 
question,  though  an  increasing  number  of  people  appear  to  think 
there  is. 
A  Popular  Fallacy. 
“  Where  can  I  send  my  son  for  a  year  to  learn  fruit  growing  ?  ”  is  a 
common  question  in  these  days.  If  the  information  is  not  given  you 
are  as  likely  as  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  churl,  and  hear  some  such 
observation  as  this:  “Well,  you  can  at  least  tell  me  of  some  school 
where  fruit  growing  is  taught,  or  of  a  few  lectures  that  my  son  could 
attend.’’  If  this  compels  a  further  reply  of  “  No,  the  subject  cannot 
be  sufficiently  learned  by  such  means  to  justify  expenditure  on  land 
and  trees ;  ’’  he  will,  as  a  last  effort,  ask  for  the  names  of  “  cheap 
books.”  These  you  are  glad  to  give,  and  thus  get  rid  of  him.  It  is 
difficult  to  know  what  to  do  with  such  people,  who  appear  to  think  that 
everything  that  is  necessary  to  be  known  about  fruit  culture  for  profit 
can  be  “picked  up”  in  a  few  short  lessons.  A  greater  fallacy  could 
not  take  possession  of  the  mind  of  man. 
Drying  Plums — “Gluts”  and  Failures. 
I  have  so  far  said  nothing  about  Plums  for  drying,  and  what  little  I 
may  venture  to  say  now  in  further  encroachment  of  space  will  not  be 
in  favour  of  growing  them  for  that  purpose.  There  are  some  things  in 
which  we  can  excel  growers  beyond  our  shores  in  producing,  and  some 
things  in  which  they  can  excel  us.  One  in  which  we  are  extremely 
likely  to  come  off  second  best  is  the  prune  industry.  If  we  relied  on 
the  cheap  Plums  in  “  glut  ”  years  we  should  certainly  fail,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  the  fruit  from  densely  overladen  trees  consists  of 
little  more  than  water,  skin,  and  stones,  and  with  the  water  driven  out 
we  should  have  prunes  of  the  worst  possible  quality.  There  could  be 
no  other  result.  They  would  pay  no  one  for  drying,  as  only  the  lowest 
of  the  low  prices  would  be  given  for  them  in  the  buying.  Fleshy  Plums 
are  requisite  for  fleshy  prunes,  and  for  these  to  be  of  the  best  the 
varieties  must  be  different  from  those  usually  grown  in  British  gardens 
and  orchards. 
Several  Varieties  for  Drying. 
Some  years  ago  reports  of  trials  in  drying  Plums  at  Chiswick  were 
published  in  some  of  the  gardening  papers.  Many  varieties  were  tried, 
and  careful  note  taken  of  the  cost  of  drying  and  the  value  of  the  fruit 
after  the  process  was  completed.  Only  one,  if  I  remember  rightly, 
showed  a  margin  of  profit,  and  that  was  the  Fellemberg.  This  is  the 
Italian  prune  or  Italian  Quetsche  Plum.  It  is  specially  grown  on  the 
continent  for  drying ;  so  are  the  German  Quetsche  Plums  ;  also  the 
French  d’Agen,  Perdrigon  Blanc,  Perdrigon  Violet,  and  others  for  the 
production  of  first-class  prunes.  It  is  doubtful  if  some  of  these 
continental  varieties  could  be  grown  profitably  in  England,  and  such 
varieties  as  are  now  grown  could  not  equal  them  in  a  dried  state,  while 
much  better  prices  are  realised  for  good  samples  of  ours,  green  or  ripe, 
for  immediate  use  or  preserving.  The  majority  of  our  seft  juicy  Plums 
are  not  adapted  for  drying,  even  in  the  best  condition,  and  it  would  be 
foolish  to  dry  them  then,  while  to  dry  them  when  small  and  “  stony,” 
as  they  are  in  “glut  ”  years,  would  surely  end  in  utter  disappointment. 
The  Better  Way. 
Much  better  grow  the  trees  as  bushes,  and  thin  the  fruits  when 
overcrowded,  and  then  will  they,  because  fine,  command  a  ready  sale 
at  remunerative  prices.  There  is  always  a  demand  for  the  “  best.” — 
A  Notts  Grower. 
