ON THE APPLE AND PEAR AS ORCHARD FRUITS.
In discussing the subject of fruit in relation to the farm, we shall
find that the number of species is exceedingly limited, being, indeed,
confined to two: the apple and the pear. This paucity of species,
however, is amply compensated for in an extended and constantly
extending list of _sorts_, or varieties, which, in both species, amount
to several hundreds.
The apple, which we shall first describe, is admitted on all hands to be
derived from the wild crab-apple (_Pyrus malus_), which is considered to
be a native tree, to which position its general appearance in woods and
hedges all over the island would seem to give it no small claim.
The fruit of the crab is exceedingly austere, and hence sour-tempered
people are said to be “crabbed.” The expressed juice makes a strong
vinegar, called “Verjuice”—in the vulgar, “Varjes”—and hence Akerman, in
his “Wiltshire Tales,” has given a cross-grained woman the name of
“Mistress Varjes.” Verjuice is a very popular remedy for sprains and
bruises, and hence on most farms having trees of crab-apples, the fruit
is made into vinegar, and kept separately for medicinal or domestic use.
The wild crab is very various in the size, colour, and flavour of its
fruit, varying in the latter point from an austerity that, on biting an
apple, would make one wince again, to that of an agreeable acid flavour,
almost equal to some of our domestic apples.
Taking into consideration this disposition to run into varieties, even
in a wild state, we shall not be surprised that, in cultivation, the
sorts of apples should be endless, so much so, indeed, that Don, in his
“General System of Gardening and Botany,” has copied a list[30] in which
are described no less than one thousand four hundred sorts, and in a
nurseryman’s list now before us, “Descriptive Catalogue of Fruit Trees,
by John Scott, of Merriott Nurseries, Crewkerne, Somerset,” are
described as many as one hundred and sixty-six sorts, which he is
prepared to supply to purchasers.
[30] This list was made out by the Horticultural Society in 1832, and
may now be considerably augmented.
As an evidence of the facility with which new sorts can be obtained,
there is scarcely a country town or place in orchard districts but has
given its name to some apple. Thus we have Canadian Pippin, Newtown
Pippin, Carlisle and Keswick Codlin, Hawthenden, &c.; and the names of
fruit-growers and others attached to apples is almost endless; as thus:
Ashmead’s Kernel, Nelson’s Codlin, Lucombe’s Seedling, Lord Nelson, Lord
Raglan, &c., &c.
The subject of “sorts,” as applied to fruit, is one of great interest,
as the facility with which these can be obtained renders it possible to
procure fruit possessing very different properties and capabilities,
adapted, not only to a great variety of uses, but with powers of
adaptation to different soils, and a wide range of climatic differences.
These powers of adaptation have, indeed, resulted in the preservation of
many sorts, but it also causes the neglect of some others; for as
fashion takes up with new favourites old ones are neglected until they
die out, and, if not become entirely lost, their stocks are lessened, so
that the chance of a good choice for their continuance becomes more
difficult year by year. We believe this to have more to do with the
decline of old favourites than any inherent principle of decay with
which grafts are said to be endowed.
The many sorts of apples differing so much in flavour and keeping
powers, enable this fruit to be employed for a variety of purposes, such
as—
_Culinary Apples_, used for tarts, puddings, &c., &c.;
_Dessert Apples_, usually of a sweet sub-acid flavour and crisp
texture, eaten raw;
_Cider Apples_, the expressed juice of which forms English Cider
(_Cidre_, French).
The same distinctions apply to pears, with the difference that their
juice is termed Perry.
Now, with regard to the two first, we need here only mention them
incidentally, as their description belongs more properly to the
horticulturist, or pomologist, than to the farmer; at the same time it
must be confessed that both culinary and dessert apples may be made a
source of profit by the farmer, as they would always find ready
purchasers; but the difficulty a farmer meets with in their cultivation
results from the circumstance that it is not easy to exert that
watchfulness over broad acres necessary to protect sweet apples from the
predatory urchins with which every country parish abounds, a propensity,
indeed, not sufficiently checked by the elders, whose plea that “it is
only a few apples, and that children will be children,” affords just
that amount of encouragement which too often ends in more serious acts
of larceny.
As regards cider fruit, we would here dissent from the common belief
that sour apples are the best for cider-making. We believe that the
sweeter the apple, and the higher the specific gravity of the juice, the
better the cider. Many, then, of our culinary and dessert apples would
make most excellent drink; at the same time there are many sorts that
will not “cook,” whose flesh cannot be got to become soft and pulpy, but
rather hard and tough by the processes either of boiling or baking. Many
sorts whose flavour is not sufficiently agreeable to be eaten raw, and
yet these may yield on expression a sweet juice, resulting in a strong
and agreeable cider.
Now, although there can be little doubt but that the quality of cider is
much influenced by the sort of fruit from which it is made, we are
inclined to the belief that the nature of the soil has, if possible, a
still more decided influence upon the result. We therefore now direct
attention to some of the best cider districts in England, which may be
classed as follows:—
Devonshire, Cider of the sweetest and richest kind;
Somersetshire, Cider rich and not so sweet;
Dorsetshire, Cider somewhat poor;
Herefordshire, Cider and Perry, very strong, but somewhat harsh;
Worcestershire, Perry and Cider, rich and not too harsh;
Gloucestershire, Cider and Perry, strong but not sweet.
The prevailing geological formations of these cider-producing counties
may be arranged as follows:—
1. Oolite Sands—Dorset, and parts of Somerset.
2. Lias—Gloucester, Somerset, and Dorset.
3. New Red Sandstone—Worcester, Devon and Hereford, in part.
4. Old Red Sandstone—Hereford and Devon.
5. Silurian System—Hereford, in part.
Hence, then, cider and perry are grown on the sub-soils of five
geological substrata, if, indeed, No. 1 should not here be classed with
No. 2, for the extent of orcharding upon the inferior oolite sands of
Somerset and Dorset is rather due to its extension from the contiguous
lias, and this on account of an occasional depth and tenacity of soil.
Its produce, however, is usually inferior.
In Gloucestershire orchards always stop when the top of the lias is
reached, and it is curious to see the sides of the Cotteswolds occupied
with well-to-do orchards until the oolite is reached, and then they
cease altogether, except in some few instances, which are here referred
to by way of warning.
Gloucestershire, for our present purpose, may be said to rest on liassic
valleys and oolitic hills. In the valleys are small farms with small
enclosures, much of which is in orchard and meadow, whilst on the hills
are large farms with fields of from 30 to 100 acres devoted to arable
cultivation. Hence, then, this has brought about two sets of farms: the
vale, with its fruits and dairy stock, producing good cider, perry,
butter, and cheese; the hills, mutton, wool, roots, barley, &c. Now, it
happens as a rule that the hill farmer stands higher in his profession
than he of the vale, for on the hills he can say—
“Ay, marry, now my soul hath elbow-room.”
The skill and enterprise in breeding the magnificent Cotteswold sheep,
for which there is each year such a spirited competition, attest to this
fact.
No sooner, then, does a vale farmer become possessed of sufficient
capital than he moves to the hills, and as in his former residence he
had imbibed a love for cider, his first act will be to plant an orchard
at his new home; but, alas! the most successful farmer cannot command
crops in an uncongenial soil, and so it is not surprising that we should
know of instances where not even enough fruit for an annual apple
pudding has been produced from a Cotteswold orchard which had been
planted thirty years.
Apples only attain to perfection on deep tenacious soils, and in a
genial climate; the moment the roots get down to stones, the ends of the
branches begin to decay, and they become covered over with lichens as
thickly as in wet ill-drained clays; besides this the trees look old and
knotty, even in youth, a sure sign that they are not sufficiently
nourished. These facts are so well known that in planting in our gardens
we prepare the soil, if not sufficiently deep and good, and make the
climate more genial by fencing and planting in sheltered situations; but
this is not possible on a large scale.
Pears prefer a lighter soil than apples, the new red sandstone deposit,
especially, the marls of this rock and the lias clays, when covered up,
as in parts of the valley of the Severn, with sand drifts, suit pears
admirably.
Like the apple, the pear is rich in sorts. It is said to be derived from
the _Pyrus communis_, which is referred to as a native tree; but though
it is really wild in the temperate regions of the European continent,
and in parts of Asia, there seems reason to conclude that our occasional
hedge-row denizen has, after all, been derived from pear cultivation.
Pears for dessert are very numerous, and each year adds to the list.
Scott, of Crewkerne and Yeovil Nurseries, gives a list of two hundred
and thirty sorts cultivated by himself, as Standards, Pyramids, and
Dwarf-trained for walls and espaliers. This list abounds in French names
given by both French and Dutch horticulturists, with whom the pear is a
great favourite.
Lindley, in his “Guide to the Orchard and Kitchen Garden,” describes but
six sorts of perry pears, of which there are doubtless several
varieties. They are as follows:—
ORIGIN OF NAMES.
_Barland_, from Barland, in the parish of Bosbury, Herefordshire.
_Holmore_, from the parish of Holmore, between Hereford and
Leominster.
_Huffcap_.
_Longland_, from the field in which the tree grew.
_Oldfield_, from Oldfield, near Ledbury.
_Teinton Squash_, from Teinton, in Gloucestershire.
Besides these are Blakeney Red Trump Pear, Honey Pear, Moorcroft,
Malvern Hill, &c. Pears, like apples, being named from places and
people, &c., each district having its own favourite sorts; but perhaps
those in the previous list are the favourite.
This subject of variety in both apple and pear is interesting, as it has
given rise to innumerable names upon this head. My old pupil, Mr.
Clement Cadle, says:—
It is almost impossible to give satisfactory information on the
sorts of fruit, because the same sort is not only known by
different names in different localities, but it also assumes a
widely different character under the influence of broad
distinctions of soil and climate, and this is more frequently the
case with pears than apples. In a tour I made last autumn in the
south of Devonshire, I visited several farms in the neighbourhood
of Totnes and Paignton, and amongst a great number of sorts that I
there saw, I could in no instance recognize either an apple or tree
as being like those I had seen before in Herefordshire,
Gloucestershire, or Worcestershire.
In selecting for producing cider or perry it is very important, not
only to get those kinds which suit the district, but to get a
variety in their character, especially for making good cider. Thus,
some of the apples should be sour, others sweet, bitter-sweet,
tart, and harsh, as much of the keeping character of the cider
depends upon this mixture, which also makes it fine down well. It
may be remarked that sweet or eating sorts of pears seldom make
perry that will keep any length of time, or that fines well.
There is another peculiar feature in regard to sorts of fruit,
namely, that each variety has its day, then gradually dies out. The
trees become non-bearers, and their places are filled with new
sorts. This is especially the case with the Hagloe crab, Fox whelp,
and Skryme’s kernel, which seldom bear or grow well now, and are
nearly gone.
_R. A. S. Journal S.S._, vol. I. pp. 18, 19.
As regards pears, it should be stated that, while in Worcester,
Gloucester, and Hereford much perry is made, and it is highly esteemed,
especially for bottling, in Dorset this drink is almost unknown, and we
were last year greatly surprised that a farmer who had an immense crop
of pears of a sort that were not fit for dessert or culinary purposes,
could not divine what to do with them, though he made excellent cider.
We conclude this portion of our subject with a quotation from the
Botanical Looker-out, by our old friend and fellow worker, E. Lees,
Esq.:—
A pear orchard in exuberant flower is a vegetable spectacle not
easily matched, for the bending branches of the pear tree give a
gracefulness to its outline far exceeding the stiff formality of
the apple tree, and oppressed with a multitudinous crowd of
blossoms its branches almost trail the ground, a bending load of
beauty that seems by moonlight a mass of silvery ingots. The
Barland Orchard, between Worcester and Malvern, containing more
than seventy trees, lofty as oaks, cannot be seen by a traveller
without admiration, and is the finest in the kingdom, though the
trees are now getting old.