ORCHARD FRUITS Apples in Grass Orchards.—The grass certainly affects the growth of the trees, and where new fields are being planted the soil should be kept cultivated until the trees are from eight to ten years old before grass seeds are sown. Where planting is done directly in a grass orchard the turf soil surrounding the young tree should be kept clear for three or four years, after which the trees may be left to take care of themselves. The trees, propagated as standard on vigorous stock, are planted in rows 4o f t. apart so as to allow plenty of room for development and for sheep to graze under the branches. Young trees need staking and to be protected from damage by cattle, sheep and rabbits.
With this method of growing fruit the cost of production is low, and the grass crop provides a certain return. Apples from grass orchards are usually well coloured, of firm flesh and keep well in storage. On the other hand, the crop generally is very uneven, with a high proportion of small and blemished specimens. Varieties of apples, such as Worcester Pearmain, Blenheim Orange, Bramley Seedling, Newton Wonder and Anne Elizabeth, are the best for growing in grass orchards. The apple trees in grass orchards are prone to biennial cropping, and the yield varies widely from year to year, averaging four to six tons to the acre.
Cherry growing in grass orchards seems to have been practised from early times, not only in England, but throughout France, Switzerland, Italy and Western Europe.
It is estimated that in England there are approximately 741,000 cherry trees, mostly grown in grass orchards, of which no less than 456,000 are in Kent. This county has been the home of the cherry industry for more than two centuries and the Kentish farmers take pride in the management of the well-grazed orchards. Cherries prefer light, well drained land, such as the brick earths and the light loams overlying the chalk. Not more than 6o to 7o trees are planted to the acre, for when fully grown a tree is of great size, capable of yielding over a ton of cherries in a season. These cherry orchards are stocked heavily with sheep, sometimes 12 or 15 to the acre, so that the sheep could not secure a living from the grass alone and much additional food, such as cake, turnips and hay must be used. This close grazing and its con sequent heavy natural manuring seems to be productive of the best fruit bearing trees and of the largest cherries. This Kentish method is accepted as the best method and copied elsewhere.
The varieties of cherries mostly grown in grass orchards are the sweet cherries, Early Rivers (black), Governor Wood (yel low), Knights Early (black), Black Tartarian, Elton (yellow), Waterloo (black) and Napoleon Bigarreau (yellow). When the last census was taken in 1925 the yield of cherries was estimated at 349,000 cwt., or an average yield per tree of nearly 53 lb.
Mixed plantations suggested by the British Ministry of Agricul ture are:— I. Mixed Standard Plantation.—Bramley Seedling and Lord Derby apples, 4o ft. square, with bush Czar plums interplanted at 20 ft. apart. The intermediate land planted either with Stirling Castle or Lane Prince Albert apples at 1 o ft. square or with soft fruits, gooseberries or red currants at 5 ft.
2. Bush Apple Plantation.—Worcester Pearmain (dwarfing stock) and Allington Pippin (dwarfing stock) 18 ft. square, inter planted with soft fruits of 6 f t. square.
3. Bush Plums.—Victoria and Czar at 14 ft. square, interplanted with soft fruits at 7 ft. square.
4. Bush Pears.—Conference (quince), Durondeau (quince) at 12 f t. square, interplanted with soft fruits at 6 ft. square.
These mixed plantations are concentrated in special areas when soil conditions are favourable, such as the sandy loams of Kent, the brick earths of Middlesex, the alluvial deposits of the Isle of Ely, Lincolnshire and Norfolk, and the loams and old red sand stone of Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
The Kentish fruit area now extends eastwards from Bexley and Farnborough through Maidstone, Sittingbourne and Canterbury to Sandwich, running down southwards to Tunbridge Wells and to Rye in Sussex. In this region where the soils and aspect are favourable these mixed plantations are to be found, some growers having as much as 5o acres of fruit. London is the principal market, though large quantities are sent to the midland and northern markets.
Middlesex still produces large quantities of apples, pears and plums, but fruit growing has waned in favour of vegetable grow ing, which is now the more important industry. In the eastern counties there has been built up within the present generation a fruit industry which has become one of the largest in Great Britain. The plantations, though mainly planted on the alluvial deposits around the Wash, stretch outwards through the Isle of Ely into the counties of Cambridge, Huntingdon, Norfolk and northwards to Spalding in the Holland division of Lincolnshire.
The Worcestershire and Herefordshire areas are spoken of as the West Midland area. Starting on the small holdings in the Vale of Evesham, the fruit planting has progressed rapidly and now extends from Birmingham almost to Bristol and westwards into Hereford. The holdings, which range from small statutory cottage holdings, are densely planted with fruit trees and inter planted thickly with either bush fruits or vegetables. Practically all kinds of fruit are produced, but mainly plums. This area is favourably situated to supply the markets of South Wales and the industrial towns of the Midlands.
In the valley of the River Tamar in Cornwall and Devon there is a fruit area of small size but important for early fruits. From here come the early strawberries, gooseberries, currants, plums and raspberries, that ripen a week or ten days before the other districts.
Before the English crop is ready importations have commenced from Spain, France and Belgium and of these the gages are the best known. These delicious fruits arrive during and throughout June, July and August.