September  5,  1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
219 
beds  in  the  Midlands  ?  ”  It  will  be  seen  that  the  midlander  was 
quick  to  derive  a  lesson  by  the  way,  as  he  noticed  that  the  plants 
on  the  cliffs  receive  regular  sprinklings  of  the  sea’s  salt  spray. 
He  was  told  that  salt  is  good  for  all  the  tribe  if  used  in  moderation 
— say,  about  2  ozs.  to  the  square  yard  in  spring  on  soil  of  a  light 
and  dry  nature,  less  to  moister  and  stronger  land.  He  at  once 
made  up  his  mind  to  try  it  next  year,  and  so  may  others,  with 
advantage,  who  reside  far  from  the  coast. 
We  were  next  on  the  “  heights,”  drinking  in  the  ozone,  the 
French  coast  visible  enough  across  the  Channel,  as  the  day  was 
clear.  Those  who  were  on  the  same  exalted  position,  or  indeed 
much  below  it,  on  the  coast,  on  the  night  of  the  storm — the 
17th  ult.— which  swept  over  England,  had  such  a  sight  as  they  had 
perhaps  never  seen  before,  and  will  not  soon  forget.  The  storm 
was  raging  over  France.  The  dense  black  wall  of  cloud  was 
pierced  every  moment  by  a  thousand  lightning  flashes,  which  lit 
up  land  and  sea.  The  effect  was  of  almost  overwhelming  grandeur, 
and  in  comparison  with  which  the  fireworks  at  the  Crystal  Palace 
and  Shrewsbury  were  as  the  sputterings  of  bad  lucifer  matches. 
But  we  will  come  to  the  earth  again.  On  the  high  road,  for 
“  high  ’  it  is  between  Folkestone  and  Deal,  are,  or  were,  some 
significant  lessons  by  the  way— the  majority  good,  several  medium, 
and  a  few  unspeakably  bad. 
Why  should  a  large  field  of  Wheat  average  6  quarters  an  acre 
and  another  adjoining  it,  without  even  a  fence  between,  not 
give  a  yield  of  3  quarters  ?  Why,  again,  should  an  expanse  of 
Barley  attract  by  its  magnificence  while  the  one  adjoining  repels 
by  its  wretched  appearance,  studded  with  thistles  sufficient  to  feed 
all  the  donkeys  in  Dover  ?  It  cannot  be  said  that  the  rain  fell 
copiously  ill  one  field  and  not  in  the  other.  It  cannot  be  said  that 
the  soil  varies  in  its  staple  any  more  than  the  herbage  on  the  road¬ 
side  varies  in  its  character.  The  poof  crops  could  not  give  a  penny 
an  acre  profit  if  not  a  penny  an  acre  was  paid  as  rent  ;  but  the 
full  crops  would  give  a  fair  if  not  a  great  return  to  the  tiller.  The 
difference  is  due  to  good  cultivation,  sound  management,  and  to 
that  alone.  On  the  one  hand  the  land  is  well  worked,  stored  with 
fertility,  and  kept  clean  ;  on  the  other,  merely  skimmed  over  and 
impoverished,  exhausted  by  worthless  weeds.  A  pity  it  is  to  see 
so  much  land  in  various  parts  of  this  island  home  of  ours  in  the 
hands  of  men  who,  unfortunately,  are  without  either  the  means  or 
the  skill  of  doing  justice  to  it.  It  is  a  serious  matter  ;  serious  to 
themselves,  to  landowners,  and  the  nation.  The  way  out  of  the 
difficulty  is  pointed  out  by  many  a  smiling  field  of  grain  and  thrifty 
plantations  of  young  trees  laden  with  their  golden  harvest.  The 
path  is  in  the  direction  of  sound  knowledge,  good  judgment,  and 
high  cultivation.  None  other  is  so  safe  and  so  sure. — Inspector, 
FKUIT  FARMING. 
On  the  margin  of  the  vale  of  the  Kennet,  aud  just  at  the  base 
of  the  high  ground  which  encloses  this  fertile  valley  on  its 
northern  side  a  little  above  Alderminster  Station,  and  some  six  or 
seven  miles  from  Reading,  is  Hillfoot  Farm,  a  very  appropriate 
name.  The  owner  is  Mr.  Richard  Webb,  who  is  something  more 
than  a  farmer,  for  he  is  a  yeoman  freeholder,  a  rather  unusual 
thing  in  a  district  where  land  seems  to  be  so  largely  absorbed  into 
huge  estates.  Mr.  Webb  can  from  his  higher  ground  look  across 
the  valley  obliquely,  and  discern  some  three  miles  distant  the  free¬ 
hold  farm  of  our  friend  Mr.  Robert  Fenn,  who  also  cultivates 
fruit,  and  is,  as  most  readers  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  know, 
an  enthusiastic  gardener.  Mr.  Webb’s  patrimony  is  of  the  extent 
of  some  90  acres.  The  lower  portion  lies  in  the  valley  ;  the  back 
part  mounts  on  to  the  hill,  and  it  presents  agriculturally  and 
picturesquely  as  desirable  a  property  for  fruit  culture  as  could 
well  be  found  anywhere.  The  farmhouse  and  buildings  were 
erected  in  1715,  and  the  land  ffias  been  in  cultivation  some  200  years. 
It  may  be  said  of  it  to-day,  under  the  care  of  an  educated  and  an 
energetic  man,  that  this  same  ground  is  far  more  productive 
perhaps  than  it  has  been  at  any  time  in  the  past.  The  soil 
generally  is  of  a  fairly  strong  loam,  but  it  seems  to  be  deep,  and 
certainly  fruit  trees  of  all  descriptions  do  wonderfully  well. 
Mr.  Webb  commenced  his  fruit  cultivation  absolutely  as  a  tyro. 
His  friend,  Mr.  Fenn,  seems  to  have  partially  inspired  in  him  a 
love  for  fruit,  and  his  first  attempt  was  by  the  purchase  of  some 
2000  trees  at  a  sale  lower  down  the  valley.  Although  this  large 
number  was  taken  because  so  many  small  people  wanted  a  dozen  or 
so,  and  the  auctioneer  could  not  satisfy  their  requirements,  Mr, 
Webb  purchased  them,  resold  to  meet  the  wishes  of  his  neighbours 
and  others,  then  brought  the  remainder  home  and  planted  them  as 
an  orchard  on  rising  ground  above  the  farmhouse  some 
fifteen  years  ago.  I  saw  this  original  orchard  the  other  day. 
Many  trees  had  been  grubbed,  npt  having  done  well  ;  others  were 
in  first-rate  condition  and  fruiting  superbly.  Apples  and  Plums  ' 
especially.  The  ground  is  rough,  and  all  the  dressing  is  found  in 
occasional  cartloads  of  road  trimmings,  drawn  on  and  spread  over 
the  grass.  But  this  venture  sufficed  to  whet  the  grower’s  appetite 
for  greater  things,  and  to-day  Apple,  Pear,  and  Plum  trees  may  be 
seen  in  all  directions,  literally  by  thousands.  One  great  fancy  of 
Mr.  Webb’s  is  to  plant  corner.^,  or  portions  of  fields 
that  do  not  admit  of  convenient  ploughing.  Another  fancy  has 
been  planting  trees  at  different  eievutions — on  the  flit,  on  the 
rising  ground,  and  on  the  summit,  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the 
effects  of  spring  frosts  on  the  bb  ssom,  and  it  is  exceedingly  annoying 
to  the  morally  certain  to  find  than  the  report  as  to  results  is 
undecided.  Sometimes  the  blossom  low  down  may  suffer,  sometimes 
higher  up,  so  that  the  experiment  only  proves  that  fruit  trees  may 
be  planted  almost  anywhere,  it  soil  bo  suitable,  with  fairly  assured 
certainty  of  success. 
It  is  worth  climbing  up  on  to  the  higher  ground,  too,  if  but  to 
get  some  most  beautiful  and  extensive  views  of  the  surrounding 
country.  Berkshire  can  exhibit  few  aspects  of  country  more 
beautiful  than  may  be  seen  from  the  Hillfoot  Farm.  As  evidence 
of  the  excellent  nature  of  the  soil  for  fruit  there  is  beside  the 
bouse  a  Jargonelle  Pear  tree  so  old,  and  with  such  an  immense 
stem,  that  it  is  believed  to  have  been  planted  when  the  house  was 
built.  Apple  trees  dominate  in  the  orchards,  and  they  are  both  on 
the  free  and  the  Paradise  stocks.  Generally,  too,  they  have  been 
planted  too  close,  even  so  near  as  6  feet  apart  each  way  ;  but  a  big 
job  this  ensuing  winter  will  be  the  lifting  and  transplanting  of 
thousands  that  are  now  too  thick.  They  may  be  partially  checked 
for  a  year,  but  as  the  soil  is  so  generous  there  is  little  fear  that  they 
will  suffer  appreciably.  There  is  one  recently  made  plantation 
close  beside  the  road  leading  to  the  farm,  protected  only  by 
a  low  rail,  where  just  within  I  saw  splendid  Bismarck  fruits,  rich 
in  colour,  and  many  other  fine  sorts  that  a  boy  if  tempted  could 
easily  have  reached.  Another  similar  belt  is  to  be  planted  on  the 
other  side  of  the  road  the  ensuing  winter.  The  samples  of  Lords 
Suffield,  Grosvenor,  and  Derby,  Potts’  Seedling,  New  Hawthornden, 
Lane’s  Prince  Albert,  Warner’s  King,  Royal  Jubilee,  Mere  de 
Menage,  Stirling  C.a<itle,  Duchess  of  Oldenburg,  Bcklinville, 
Gasgoine’s  Scarlet,  Golden  Spire,  and  Noble,  Cox’s  Pomona  and 
Orange  Pippin,  and  many  others  are  first-class,  and  crops  splendid. 
The  Dartmouth  crop  is  here  fruiting  most  superbly  on  bush  trees, 
two  years  transplanted.  I  have  never  seen  more  brilliant  colour.  On 
established  trees  growth  is  rather  gross,  so  that  transplanting  in 
this  case  is  a  good  corrective.  The  Transcendent  Crab  is 
about  to  be  added  to  the  stock.  Plums  of  many  sorts,  even  Gages, 
fruit  finely  on  large  trees,  and  Pears  equally  well. 
Mr.  Webb  disposes  so  far  of  all  his  grand  fruit  locally  ;  none 
goes  to  market.  That  is  a  phase  of  market  sale  that  cannot  be  too 
highly  commended.  I  specially  noticed  in  one  plantation  that  the 
trees  had  small  hillocks  of  soil  about  the  roots.  I  was  told  that  as 
it  was  shallow  worked  only,  having  been  prepared  by  ploughing, 
the  trees  had  been  planted  rather  shallow  and  soil  heaped  over  the 
roots  with  the  happiest  results.  A  large  area  of  the  farm  is  utilised 
for  seed  production  and  Potato  culture  for  a  well-known  seed 
house.  The  soil  seems  to  be  admirably  adapted  for  that  purpose 
also.  High  upon  the  rising  ground  a  large  plantation  of  Farleigh 
Prolific  Damson  has  been  made,  and  the  trees  are  doing  wonder¬ 
fully  well.  Everything  here  seems  to  emp’nasise  the  undoubted 
fact  that  this  fertile  valley,  and  especially  its  hillsides,  are  splendidly 
adapted  for  fruit  culture. 
So  far  bush  fruits  have  not  been  extensively  grown.  Mr.  Webb 
tells  the  story  of  his  first  attempt  at  grafting  an  old  beheaded 
tree  with  the  aid  of  an  assistant,  who  knew  as  much  about  the 
operation  as  himself.  He  said,  “  It  would  have  amused  you  to  have 
seen  us  with  Mr.  J,  Wright’s  Fruit  Essay  before  us  for  a  guide,  pre¬ 
paring  our  grafts,  inserting  them,  tying  in,  and  claying  over  ;  the  in¬ 
structions  in  the  book  being  rigidly  followed,  with  the  result  that 
novices  in  the  art  as  we  were  we  had  a  great  success.  I  buy  very 
freely  from  the  trade,  but  in  a  few  cases  where  varieties  do  not 
seem  to  thrive  well,  they  are  beheaded  and  grafted  with  some 
other  good  variety.”  We  find  on  the  Hillfoot  Farm  a  capital 
illustration  of  the  way  in  which  an  energetic  intelligent  man  can, 
with  the  greatest  success  and  the  best  results,  combine  ordinary 
agriculture  with  fruit  culture. — A.  D. 
FUCHSIAS  IN  THE  FLOWER  GARDEN. 
Since  the  old-fashioned  stereotyped  methods  of  straight  lines 
and  acute  angles  in  bedding  have  been  in  a  great  measure  super¬ 
seded  by  the  much  more  pleasing  arrangements  of  to-day,  it  is  a 
matter  for  surprise  that  the  flatness  of  many  beds  filled  with  their 
snmmer  occupants  is  not  abolished  by  the  use  of  Fuchsias,  for 
which  purpose  we  have  no  plants  possessing  the  same  qualifications. 
This  appears  to  be  no  new  idea,  as  years  ago  able  writers  pro- 
