COUNTRY LIFE
Research There are people who are rude about research-stations ; and there are research-stations, I daresay, which would like to be rude about people. In some quarters agriculture and science are still very much at war. But the finest orchards near me, possibly the finest in all Kent, are the property of a man who is in constant and close touch with the research station at East Mailing. This week I spent a day at East Mailing—almost the only visitor of the day. Before the war there was a daily stream of visitors there ; now there are very feu. Is the average gardener shy of research-stations? Yet obviouslv research-stations exist for the people. It is possible that the small grower- thinks his problems too small for a research-station to handle But take fruit-storage. The large-scale method of storage by gas is expensive, out of reach of the man with a couple of dozen trees. But East Mailing has just given a demonstration of a method of apple. storage by dipping in a simple dilute oil-solution—so that the life of an apple is prolonged for four or six weeks—which will obviously be a godsend to the ordinary grower, especially in a glut year. I was given a demonstration also of framework grafting—that very simple method by which the scion of a new variety is whipped on to the lateral of the old tree, and by Which grafts begin to bear in two or three years. This method can now be used for pears, plums and cherries as well as apples—extremely simple and effective, ideal for the small grower who is growing old uneconomic varieties and wants a quick change to a new variety.
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