52 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
January  20,  1898. 
A  DREAM  OF  THE  FUTURE. 
Change  of  air  and  scene  act  like  magic  on  both  mind  and  body. 
Even  in  the  depth  of  winter  how  much  there  is  to  note  in  this  land  of 
ours  as  we  speed  onward  behind  the  “  iron  horse  !  ”  All  roads  seem 
to  lead  to  that  greatest  of  cities  with  its  endless  piles  of  bricks  and 
mortar,  and  when  it  is  reached  many  seem  tempted  to  linger  and  enjoy 
the  familiar  gaieties  which  at  all  times  prevail  in  the  great  metropolis. 
To  me  it  often  seems  a  place  to  avoid,  or  at  least  to  leave  as  soon  as 
possible,  and  pass  onward  to  that  fruitiful  garden  heyond — the  fair 
land  of  Kent.  Towards  that  goal  I  journeyed — somewhat  slowly — last 
Christmas  Eve,  and  a  few  days  spent  in  walking  and  driving  about 
the  fruit-growing  districts  of  the  Hop  county  supplied  me  with  much 
food  for  after  reflection,  as  well  as  ample  work  for  the  perceptive 
faculties  during  my  stay  there.  In  the  matter  of  fruit-growing  the 
Kentish  folk  have  been  “  going  ahead  ”  during  the  last  ten  years.  So 
much  planting  has  been  done  that  the  whole  district  seems  destined 
to  become  one  vast  fruit  garden.  The  system  of  culture  followed  is, 
I  noticed,  improving  all  round,  and  the  young  plantations,  just  entering 
upon  their  prime,  looked  promising  indeed  for  another  season.  Beside 
them  the  old  orchards,  with  their  stunted  growth  and  gnarled  or 
broken  branches,  cut  a  sorry  figure.  They  have  done  their  duty 
in  the  past,  but  cannot  be  expected  to  produce  fruit  of  high  quality 
when  decay  is  already  beginning  in  their  trunks. 
I  left  the  land  of  sunshine  to  journey  toward  the  mists  which  too 
often  enshroud  the  Midlands,  and  on  the  way  my  thoughts  dwelt 
continuously  upon  the  progress  I  had  noted.  I  think,  indeed,  that 
my  sluggish  imagination  was  stimulated  at  the  prospects  before  us  in 
this  tldckly  populated  island.  When  home  was  reached  at  last  and 
sleep  sought  in  the  usual  way,  the  mind  for  once  gained  the  mastery 
over  the  tired  body,  the  brain  was  active  to  work,  to  plan,  but  felt 
not  the  need  of  sleep.  When  this  did  come  at  last  it  was  only  to 
carry  me  to  the  “  land  of  dreams,”  where  I  appeared  to  see  a 
vision  of  the  future,  which  I  will  attempt  to  set  down,  for  who 
can  tell  whether  or  not  that  vision  may  contain  some  germ  of 
prophetic  truth  ? 
I  seemed  to  see  all  England  at  a  glance  ;  but  what  a  change  to 
England  as  we  know  it  now  !  A  network  of  railways  permeated  the 
whole  country,  the  great  towns  seemed  to  have  grown  little,  but  a 
vast  number  of  others  of  moderate  size  had  sprung  up  with  wonderful 
regularity  throughout  the  country.  It  was  summer  time.  The 
meadows,  as  of  old,  with  their  deep  green  verdure  were  in  evidence 
on  all  sides,  for  the  milk  trade  of  the  country  had  grown  to  enormous 
dimensions,  light  railways  passed  through  every  village,  and  milk  was 
conveyed  two  or  three  times  daily  to  surrounding  towns,  where  a 
wonderful  and  complete  system  of  distribution  was  in  force.  The 
farmers  themselves  seemed  shrewd  business  men,  with  a  prosperous 
look  about  them,  being  happy  and  contented.  I  seemed  to  miss  the 
corn  fields,  but  soon  perceived  they  were  things  of  the  past,  for 
farming  was  confined  to  the  production  of  milk,  butter,  meat,  and 
food  for  cattle. 
The  other  tracts  of  cultivated  land  seemed  like  a  series  of  huge 
gardens,  which  produced  wonderful  crops  of  fruit  and  vegetables.  On 
all  sides  work  was  abundant,  and  method,  industry,  and  science  seemed 
as  if  by  magic  to  convert  every  concern  into  a  paying  one.  The  growth 
and  disposal  of  fruit  appeared  to  have  become  one  of  the  greatest  of 
rural  industries,  and  those  pessimists  of  olden  times  who  used  to 
declare  that  fruit  could  never  be  largely  grown  in  England,  and  that 
much  of  the  land  would  go  out  of  cultivation,  were  quite  forgotten  ; 
while  those  strong  men  who,  at  a  critical  time,  lost  no  opportunity 
of  working  and  striving  with  all  their  strength  to  encourage  exten¬ 
sive  fruit  growing  on  scientific  principles,  were  looked  upon  as 
prophets  of  old,  whose  names  were  remembered  for  the  good  they 
wrought  for  their  country — for  their  bloodless  victories. 
Then  I  seemed  instinctively  to  realise  what  great  advance  had 
been  made  in  the  system  of  distribution,  as  well  as  in  methods  of 
culture.  The  immense  advantage  of  combination  had  evidently  been 
frilly  grasped.  A  National  Society  of  Fruit  Growers  had  come  into 
existerice,  which  society  had  agents  for  the  sale  of  fruit  in  every 
town  in  Britain.  To  these  the  growers  sent  their  produce,  and  after 
paying  commission,  received  the  full  return.  Telephonic  communi¬ 
cation  prevented  any  particular  town  from  being  “  glutted  ”  while 
others  were  in  want,  because  information  about  the  state  of  the 
markets  was  constantly  exchanged  between  every  district,  and  the 
wonderful  increase  of  speed  on  all  railways,  combined  with  the  use 
of  trucks  fitted  with  cool  chambers,  reduced  the  effects  of  a  journey  of 
a  few  hundred  miles  to  a  mere  trifle.  Mechanical  appliances  having 
entirely  done  away  with  the  necessity  of  manual  labour,  fruit  as 
an  article  of  food  had  become  an  absolute  necessity  for  all  classes, 
and  consequently  fruit  growing  was  a  real  and  important  national 
industry.  Instead  of  relying  on  America  and  our  colonies  for  Apples 
to  the  same  extent  as  now,  we  had  enough  of  our  own,  besides 
exporting  jam  in  enormous  quantities,  thanks  to  the  cheapness  of 
sugar  in  England  and  to  the  natural  adaptability  of  our  sea-girf  isle 
to  the  production  of  fruit. 
The  business  appeared  to  be  managed  in  this  way.  The 
National  Society  of  Fruit  Growers  had  established  one  or  more  jam 
factories  in  every  fruit  growing  county,  and  whenever  the  ripe  fruit 
exceeded  the  demand  of  the  moment,  telephonic  communication 
directed  the  surplus  to  be  sent  to  those  factories  to  be  utilised. 
Thus  waste  was  prevented,  and  what  at  one  time  used  to  be  a 
loss  was  turned  into  profit.  The  British  race  being  a  severely  practical 
one,  brought  in  the  aid  of  science  to  improve  their  methods,  both  in 
regard  to  economv  of  manufacture  and  quality  of  the  manufactured 
article,  till  English  jams  became  famous  throughout  the  world  for 
their  unequalled  excellence. 
Hybridists,  too,  seemed  to  have  kept  pace  with  the  times,  for 
varieties  of  Apples  and  Pears,  specially  adapted  for  growing  in  the 
climate  of  Britain,  had  been  raised.  I  marvelled  in  my  dream  at 
the  great  size  and  wonderful  brilliancy  of  colour  they  all  possessed, 
the  one  point  the  foreign  supplies  used  to  beat  them  in.  Perhaps,  too, 
the  climate  had  improved  in  consequence  of  the  re-timbering  of  the 
land  with  fruit  trees.  It  seemed  at  least  to  be  so,  judging  by  the 
style  of  dress  I  noticed,  and  the  vivacity  of  the  people,  which 
appeared  akin  to  that  of  dwellers  in  sunny  lands.  The  wand  of 
the  magician  had,  I  thought,  indeed  been  waved  over  England  with 
marvellous  results,  for  the  bright  alertness,  fine  physique,  and  happy 
faces  of  those  who  seemed  to' pass  before  me  with  vivid  clearness, 
could  only  be  found  in  a  land  where  peace  and  plenty  dwelt.  I  seemed 
to  glow  with  pleasure  at  the  thought ;  then  I  awoke  with  a  start, 
and  lo  !  it  was  “  only  a  dream.” — Onward. 
[Our  friend  is  not  only  a  good  dreamer  but  a  good  worker,  and  if 
all  in  possession  of  land  could  turn  it  to  account  as  well  as  he  has  done 
there  would  soon  be  a  quick  march  “  onward  ”  towards  the  realisa¬ 
tion  of  his  ideal.] 
NOTES  ON  VINE  BORDERS. 
While  I  was  reading  the  common-sense  remarks, of  “Vitis” 
(page  617,  December  30th,  1887)  on  Vine  borders,  it  occurred  to  me 
that  if  practical  Grape-growers  recorded  their  own  failures,  or  what 
they  liave  observed  by  the  sudden  collapse  of  Vines  in  borders  whicli 
have  been  formed  with  care  and  the  greatest  of  skill  exercised  in  the 
formation  of  them,  it  would  be  as  instructive  to  the  inexperienced 
bi  ginner  as  lengthy  chapters  on  orthodox  methods  of  preparing  the  soil 
and  manipulation  of  border-making.  There  are  often  local  circum¬ 
stances  which  have  to  be  considered  in  reference  to  this  subject  which 
are  unknown  in  other  localities,  and  may  necessitate  a  complete 
change  c  f  action  m  placing  drainage  and  soil  for  the  roots  to  ramify 
in  safety. 
It  is  seldom  one  can  work  with  success  on  identical  lines  in 
positions  diversely  situated.  In  low  and  damp-lying  ground,  where 
drainage  is  formed  under  difficulty,  precaution  is  n  cessary  to  keep  the 
roots  from  passing  downwards  where  they  xvould  likely  perish,  while 
in  elevated  positions  precautions  have  to  be  taken  to  prevent  the  evils 
which  accrue  from  drought.  I  know  where  there  are  Vines  in  the 
south  of  England  which  produce  excellent  Grapes  year  after  year,  and 
are  recorded  to  be  about  a  hundred  years  old,  and  where  the  roots 
have  gone  in  search  of  food  no  one  could  correctly  state.  I  have  also 
within  my  ken  in  the  same  latitude  the  failure  of  Vines  by  shanking 
of  the  Grapes  where  bordeis  were  formed  elaborately,  with  all  one 
could  suppose  to  insure  the  best  results ;  but  the  roots  ran  through 
the  excellent  soil  into  cold,  wet,  and  inert  clay  beyond,  and  speedily 
brought  failure  and  great  disappointment.  If  the  border  had  been 
limited  and  means  adopted  to  prevent  the  roots  from  wandering  I 
believe  success  would  have  been  complete. 
Many  cases  of  this  kind  I  could  relate,  but  will  not  at  present 
make  claim  on  your  valuable  space  further  than  record  an  episode 
relevant  to  keeping  Vine  roots  within  bounds — viz.,  an  Alicante  Vine, 
which  had  for  thirteen  years  produced  excellent  crops  of  Grapes ;  but 
two  years  ago  gross  growth  developed — the  berries  were  larger  but 
badly  flavoured,  and  would  not  keep,  as  they  had  always  done,  till 
April.  During  the  past  season  no  improvement  took  place.  We 
went  in  search  of  the  mischief  by  digging  down  by  the  side  of  the 
wall  which  enclosed  the  border,  and  found  the  delinquent  roots  had 
pushed  their  way  down  by  the  side  of  the  wall  till  they  reached 
cold  wet  unhealthy  clay.  They  were  in  abundance,  and  no  doubt 
had  been  drawing  up  moisture  with  nothing  in  it,  or  worse,  which 
rendered  the  fruit  so  obnoxious.  All  the  roots  had  to  be  severed,  and 
bricks  built  to  prevent  further  egress. 
All  the  Apple  trees  here  have  been  placed  on  foundations  of  bricks 
to  prevent  downward  growth,  and  canker  has  ceased.  There  have 
been  abundant  crops  for  over  a  dozen  years ;  old  and  young  trees  alike 
respond  favourably  to  the  good  practice  of  keeping  the  feeders  under 
complete  control. — M.  T.,  Carron^  N.B. 
