April  20,  1890. 
‘^22 
JOUIIKAL  OF  lIOllTTCULTUnE  AND  COTTAGF  GADDKNER. 
IMUKIUESS  TN  FIMJIT  PRODUCTION. 
(Continued  from  page  302.) 
IiKKKHniNr;  to  our  citation  list  week,  Mr.  Hear  points  out  tliat  his 
ficntenre,  “ 'I’abiilated  .statements  show  th.at  the  totals  for  Mn^land 
and  Wales  have  nearly  doubled  in  the  ten  years  that  have  elapsed 
since  18HK,”  would  appear  to  aptdy  to  orchards,  “whereas  the  figures 
given  are  tho.se  of  small  fruits.”  'I’he  area  of  orchards,  he  points  out, 
as  given  in  the  tables,  oidy  amounts  to  about  Id  jier  cent.  .Mr.  Hear 
gives  the  orchard  and  small  fruit  areas  in  separate  table.s.  We  are 
obliged  by  the  correction,  and  continue  the  interesting  and  suggestive 
•extracts,  though  they  are  only  mere  items  characteristic  of  his  com¬ 
pendious  production. 
I’l.ANTATIONS  IN  KeNT. 
“  Messrs.  William  and  Mdwin  Vinson  together  have  about  1000 
acres  of  Strawberries  ar.d  Itasiiberries  in  the  Orpington  and  St.  Mary 
■Cray  districts  ;  and  when  in  jiartnership,  until  the  end  of  1897,  they 
were  the  most  extensive  growers  of  these  fruits  in  England.  "I'liey 
had  ()f)0  acres  of  Strawberries  and  d.bO  acres  of  Ras])berrie8,  with  a  few 
acres  of  other  kinds  of  fruit.  Now  Mr.  William  Vinson,  to  whom  my 
vniit  was  nnade,  has  about  .000  acres  of  Strawberries,  and  his  brother 
E)o0  acres,  lie  is  of  opinion  that  the  fruit  indiistry  is  overdone. 
Emit  prices,  he  said,  had  fallen  about  20  per  cent,  in  the  last  twer.ty- 
five  years,  but  are  about  the  same  as  they  were  twenty  years  ago,  or 
perhaps  a  little  higher.  At  Crockenhill,  near  Swanley,  .Mr.  John  Wood,  a 
very  largo  and  successful  grower,  has  600  acres  of  fruit,  including  1.90 
ivcres  of  Strawberries  and  1  fO  acres  of  llispberries,  the  rest  of  the  land 
being  devoted  to  Ap[)les,  Pears,  Plums,  Damsons,  Gooseberries, 
Currants,  and  a  few  Cherries.  'I’he  Paxton  is  the  principal  variety  of 
Strawberry,  but  Mr.  W'ood,  like  Mr.  Vinson,  complains  of  it  as 
*  wearing  out,’  as  shown  by  its  mildewing  badly.  Hoyal  Sovereign  is 
being  more  and  more  extensively  grown  on  this  farm,  though  Mi. 
Wood  considers  it  inferior  to  Paxton  in  flavour,  and  it  docs  not  travel 
«o  well— no  other  variety  doe.s.  Mr.  Wood  will  not  have  anything  to 
<lo  with  the  watery  and  flavourless  Noble,  early  though  it  is,  as  he 
■declares  that  it  ‘cripples  the  Strawberry  trade,’  meaning  that  it  is  a 
source  of  much  dissatisfaction  among  wholesale  and  retail  buyers. 
Messrs.  Wood  Prother.-i,  succ'  ssors  to  the  late  iMr.  Thomas  Wood,  hold 
about  .‘>000  acres  of  land  in  Kent,  about  2000  acres  being  under  fruit. 
The  extent  of  their  cultivation  of  P^aspberries  may  be  grasped  from 
the  statement  that  last  year,  a  bad  season,  they  expected  to  produce 
EiOO  tons  of  this  fruit.  Mr.  Cannell  stated  that  he  had  known  75  tons 
•ol  Strawberries  to  be  despatched  from  Swanley  station  in  one  day,  in 
addition  to  large  quantities  sent  byroad.  In  the  jam  factory  there 
are  fifteen  steam- jacketed  vats  in  one  row,  and  six  others  for  candied 
peel.  Mr.  Leopold  Wood,  who  manages  tlie  factory,  stat-od  that  he 
■expected  to  jiroduce  last  season  aliout  .‘’>500  tons  of  jam,  850  tons  of 
candied  peel,  and  750  gross  (108,000  bottles)  of  bottled  fruit. 
“In  the  Maidstone  district  Mr.  Frederic  Smith,  of  Loddington,  was 
named  by  some  good  authorities  as  one  of  the  best  fruit  growers  in 
Iveut,  and  a  visit  to  his  plantation  of  200  acres  fully  confirmed  this 
statement.  lie  grows  chielly  Apples,  Plums,  and  Darn.sons  as  top 
fruit.  Cob  Nuts  are  the  principal  bottom  fruit,  half  the  land,  or 
100  acres,  being  occupied  with  them,  and  the  trees  under  and  among 
which  they  grow.  Among  the  interesting  notes  in  Mr.  Smith’s  state¬ 
ments,  the  riiore  important  must  be  given  in  miscellaneous  style.  Cob 
Nuts  pay  fairly  as  a  rule,  and  sometimes  well.  'I'hree  good  crops  had 
been  grown  before  last  year ;  but  the  crop  of  the  recent  season  was 
exjiccted  to  be  only  about  half  a  ton  per  acre.  In  1897  Mr.  Smith 
produced  100  tons  from  100  acres.  He  once  grew  the  great  crop  of 
2  tons  per  acre,  while  hia  brother  produced  the  enormous  crop  of 
73  tons.  Many  growers  say  that  the  Stirling  Castle  variety  of  Apple  is 
of  no  good  to  them,  as  it  is  such  a  tremendous  ci'opper  that  it  wears 
itself  out  quickly  ;  but  at  Loddington  it  is  manured  heavily,  and  the 
trees  are  gone  over  twice  to  cut  off  superfluous  blossom  twig.-;.  When 
Plums  are  thick  on  the  trees,  thinning  them  pays  well,  as  the  green 
fruit  realises  money  enough  to  pay  for  the  labour.  One  peck  per  bush 
is  a  fair  crop  of  Gooseberries,  but  half  a  bushel  per  bush  is  sometimes 
jproduced.  Last  season  Gooseberries  started  at  Ss.  a  bushel,  went 
down  to  2s.  Gd.,  and  rose  afterwards  to  5s.  or  5s.  Cd. 
“  Mr.  W.  W.  Berry,  Gushmere  Court,  Eaversham,  grows  fruit 
and  Hops  on  an  extensive  scale.  At  Selling,  which  is  Mr. 
Berry’s  nearest  station,  I  found  my.self  in  the  midst  of  a  great 
fruit  and  Hop  country.  The  soil  for  the  most  part  is  a  stiffi.sh 
loam  over  brick  earth,  with  a  chalk  subsoil  8  feet  to  9  feet 
■below  the  surface.^  Emit  does  well  with  such  a  depth  of  soil 
before  the  chalk  is  reached,  but  not  where  tlie  latter  is  near  the 
«urface.  The  jirice  of  land  varies  from  £30  to  £150  an  acre  when  dis¬ 
posed  of  in  considerable  quantities;  but  small  holdings  with  fryit  upon 
■them  or  suita,ble  for  fruit  are  much  dearer.  For  example,  half  an 
acre  of  land  with  a  tumble-down  cottage  upon  it  realised  £140  shortly 
before  my  visit.  As  it  lets  at  £10  per  annum,  it  is  not  a  bad  invest¬ 
ment  at  the  price.  1  ruit  plantations  in  full  bearing  let  at  £8  to  £10 
an  acre,  and  the  land  of  one  that  I  saw,  only  five  years  planted,  had 
been  bought  at  £55  an  acre,  and  would  now  let  at  £6  per  acre.  A 
good  Cherry  orchard,  Mr.  Berry  says,  is  worth  £300  an  acre  if  in  full 
bearing.  One  farmer  in  the  district  has  sixty  acres  of  Cherries ; 
another  near  .Sittingbourne  holds  a  still  larger  extent  of  young  trees_ ; 
and  a  landowner  who  has  farms  in  hand  has  one  hundred  acres  of  this 
fruit.  Emit  growing  ajipears  to  pay  in  the  district,  and  workmen 
who  have  saved  money  occasionally  obtain  a  small  holding,  and  do 
well  at  the  industry;  but  Hops,  when  well  rnana'ied,  according  to  the 
occupier  of  Gushmere  Court,  pay  better  than  fruit.  Mr.  Berry  farins 
600  acres  of  land,  seventy  acres  being  in  fruit  and  180  acres  in 
Hops. 
Dukation  oe  Ekuit.s. 
“  On  the  question  of  the  duration  of  different  fruit.s,  Mr.  Berry 
said  that  Piasjiberries  would  stand  fourteen  to  fifteen  years.  Plums 
twenty  to  twenty-five.  Cherries  sixty  to  seventy  on  suitable  soiks,  and 
Apples  up  to  a  hundred  years.  Grxiseberries  and  Currants  are  commonly 
left  twelve  to  fourteen  years  under  fruit  trees,  but  would  last  longer 
if  required.  Trees  usually  cover  the  ground  almost  comjdetely  in  the 
period  named,  and  the  land  is  often  laid  down  to  grass.  With  respect 
to  fruit  on  grass  land,  ^Ir.  Berry’s  views  correspond  closely  witjh  those 
of  Mr.  E.  Smith.  Cherries  always,  and  Apples  generally,  he  ^aid,  do 
best  on  grass,  and  mo.st  Plums  on  arable  land.  Although  the  point 
w  as  not  put  to  him  directly,  it  may  be  assumed  that  he  would  not 
recommend  the  planting  of  any  fruit  on  g'rass,  as  all  his  directions 
indicate  planting  in  arable  fields.  It  is  only  after  even  Cherries  and 
Apples  are  well  established,  and  their  roots  have  penetrated  below 
the  depth  from  which  grass  exhausts  most  of  the  fertility  in  the  soil, 
that  grass  should  be  allowed  to  compete  with  them  for  nutriment. 
“  Berry’s  Plarly  Kent  is  the  Gooseberry  which  does  best  at  Gush¬ 
mere  Court  as  the  earliest  for  picking.  In  April  last  year  it  made 
8s.  a  peck.  It  is  a  chance  variety  of  unknown  origin,  and  is  of  value 
chiefly  to  sell  green,  not  being  recommended  as  the  sort  to  be  ripened. 
Lancashire  Lad  and  Whinham’s  Industry  both  flourish  and  bear  well, 
but  are  comparatively  late.  'J'he  former  is  better  than  the  latter  to 
sell  when  lipe,  while  Crown  Bob  is  better  still  to  eat,  if  not  to  sell. 
Some  very  fine  dessert  Gooseiierries  of  the  Gunner  variety  are  also 
grown.  Of  the  Bed  Currants,  Fay’s  Early  is  regarded  as  the  best  early 
variety.  La  HAtive,  Early  Dutch,  Late  Dutch,  and  Scotch  Bed  being 
also  cultivated.  Baldwin  and  Champion  are  the  Black  Currants; 
Paxton  and  Boyal  Sovereign  the  only  Strawberries. 
In  Cambridgeshire. 
“Under  the  valuable  guidance  of  Mr.  Arthur  Bull,  of  Cottenharn, 
many  of  the  fruit  plantations  of  that  parish  and  of  Histon,  adjoining, 
were  seen  early  in  the  season.  A  large  portion  of  the  land  in  Cotten- 
ham  is  on  the  lower  greensand,  the  best  of  all  formations  for  fruit. 
Bare  land  suitable  for  fruit  is  worth  £60  to  £120  an  acre,  and  quite 
half  the  land  in  Cottenharn  is  owned  by  the  growers.  About  1000  acres 
of  land  are  under  fruit  in  Cottenharn,  and  about  the  same  area  is 
devoted  to  Asparagus,  which,  however,  is  giving  place  to  fruit  to  some 
extent.  Nearly  all  the  fruit  has  been  planted  within  thirty  years, 
progress  having  been  equable  all  the  time.  There  are  many  small 
holdings,  some  only  2  or  3  acres,  and  others  7  or  8  acres,  while  few 
men  hold  more  than  20  acres,  and  not  more  than  two  over  50  acres. 
Some  of  the  men  who  have  purchased  2  or  3  acres  for  fruit  growing 
farm  largo  holdings  as  tenants,  growing  ordinary  farm  crops.  In  reply 
to  a  question  as  to  the  smallest  area  of  fruit  land  on  which  a  family 
could  be  supported,  Mr.  Bull  said  he  thought  that  owners  of  6  acres 
saved  some  money.  Mr.  Bull  said  jirices  for  fruit  have  varied  greatly, 
but  have  not  fallen  during  the  last  twenty  years.  He  has  40  acres  of 
fruit  land,  partly  his  own.  He  planted  the  first  8  acres  twenty-two 
years  ago,  and  the  plantations  are  healthy  and  well  cultivated. 
“  One  of  my  most  instructive  visits  was  to  the  admirably  managed 
fruit  plantations  of  Mr.  1.  F.  Thoday,  of  Willingham,  Cambs.  There 
are  about  200  acres  of  fruit  in  that  piarish,  besides  what  small  growers 
cultivate,  which  cannot  be  easily  estimated.  Mr.  Thoday  has  45  acres 
under  fruit,  and  is  the  largest  grower  in  the  parish.  He  grows 
Sutton’s  Earliest  of  All  Tomatoes,  outdoors,  and  in  one  year  he  pro¬ 
duced  50  tons.  Mr.  'I’hoday  strongly  objects  to  crowded  orchards,  he 
appears  to  doubt  whether  thick  planting  in  the  first  instance,  and  the 
removal  of  every  other  tree  when  necessary,  is  not  more  profitable  than 
thin  planting.  He  showed  me  a  neighbour’s  orchard  of  Plums  and 
Gooseberries,  in  which  the  trees  are  only  10  feet  by  8  feet,  and  in  some 
places  10  feet  by  6  feet,  as  one  of  the  most  pirofitabie  in  the  parish.  It 
is  but  8  acres  in  extent,  and  he  thinks  it  yields  a  profit  of  £400  in  a 
good  year.  But  every  other  tree  now  needs  to  be  cut  out,  or  the 
orchard  will  certainly  deteriorate.  Mr.  Thoday  himself  made  £800  on 
one  occasion  of  10  acres  of  Plums.  '  Another  highly  remunerative 
crop  was  50  tons  of  Gooseberries  from  7  acres,  with  top  fruit  besides. 
Yet  another  was  2  tons  of  Raspberries  from  an  acre  and  a  quarter  of 
land,  sold  at  £25  a  ton. 
“  In  the  Wisbech  district,  according  to  an  authority  in  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood,  there  are  fully  6C00  acres  of  land  under  fruit,  most  of  R 
