AGRICULTURE not necessarily involve high prices as foreign supplies are usually available, but in spite of this fact and even with the attendant heavy expense of cultivation it is considered that hop growing pays fairly well on an average of seasons. Fruit. — In the growth of fruit, as in that of hops, Kent takes the foremost place amongst the counties of England. Of the 72,000 acres of small fruit and the 241,000 acres of orchards in the country, Kent contains 22,000 acres of the former and nearly 30,000 of the latter. In the case of orchards the Kent area was until recent years exceeded by that of several of the western counties, but although these have shared in the general extension of fruit-culture, the progress in Kent has been particularly marked. The following statement shows the number of acres under fruit in the county in periods of five years since the official returns were first obtained : — Orchards. Small Fruit. Average area, 1872-76 . 11,300 ... — „ „ 1877-81 . 13,920 ... — „ 1882-86 17,600 ... — „ „ 1887-91 18,350 . . . 14,920 1 „ „ 1892-96 22,250 , . . 21,200 „ „ 1897-1901 25,700 . . . 22,370 „ „ 1902-06 28,770 . . . 22,340 The two sets of figures are not entirely independent of one another since a good deal of small fruit is of course grown under the trees in orchards, but they give a general indica- tion of the rapid advance which has taken place during the last thirty years. But, indeed, the pre-eminence of Kent in fruit-growing is of no modern origin, for its reputation in this respect rests upon the experience of many centuries, and in particular the district of Teynham was renowned more than three hundred years ago as the special centre from which grafts of superior quality were supplied to growers in other parts of the county and country. The high standard of excellence attained there, and in Kent generally, was in no small measure due to the introduction of new and vigorous grafts from the neighbouring Continental countries. This enterprise on the part of a few individuals made it possible for Jeremy Collier, in 1688, to mention as a peculiarity of Kent ' its great plenty of the best cherries and pippins in England,' while Marshall, writing more than a hundred years later, observed that the practice of Kent might be safely recommended as ' the fittest subject of study which the Island at present affords with respect to the management of orchard grounds.' Every class of grower and of plantation is found, from the ordinary farmer with the old grass orchard, to the highly specialised fruit-grower having possibly 500 to 1,000 acres of fruit in mixed plantations. Speaking generally large holdings prevail in Kent and very little vintage fruit is grown, as it is found more profitable to grow apples for the table than for cider-making. Small fruit is principally grown in North and Mid-Kent. Here strawberries, raspberries, currants and gooseberries are produced in large quantities. In the neighbourhood of London many farms are devoted entirely to fruit, and it is in such cases that the cultivation is most remunerative, since the grower is in a position to acquire the scientific and technical know- ledge which, whether applied to the choice of ground, the selection of varieties, or the methods of cultivation, is not the least important feature of successful management. As regards orchards, with the important exception of the region between Chatham and Canterbury there is no great e.xtent in East Kent. Elsewhere in the county the distribution is fairly general, and most farms where the land is suitable have a considerable acreage of fruit attached. But taking Chatham as a centre, the country west, south and east within a radius of fifteen miles and extending a little further eastwards to Canterbury contains approximately two-thirds of the Kent orchards. Great improvement has taken place of late years in the management of fruit-land, especially of cherry and apple orchards. More care is now taken not to exhaust the ground by mowing, the grass being fed off by animals having supplies of other food. Poultry, too, will often be seen foraging about in the orchards, and by these means as well as by the liberal use of manures the land is kept in good heart and the produce greatly increased. In the case of apples, pears and plums half-standards, pyramids and also dwarfed or bush trees have in many cases taken the place of old standards. The dwarf trees are planted eight to ten feet apart ; they come to bear in two or three years and are more easily cultivated, pruned, sprayed and picked. Sometimes strawberries or vegetables will be grown between them for the first two or three years. The distances at which standard trees are planted are generally, for cherry and apple 1 1888-1891. 467
