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Ploughing by Dynamite
It is sometimes said that our producers are too conservative and too little adaptable and imaginative. Many are ; but the charge cannot be made against the more intensive gardeners.of Worcestershire, or indeed any other fruit-producing county: In spite of his heavy losses, this gardener has not ceased his experiments, one may say his research work. Let me describe one experiment. A number of standard Morelli cherries (a fruit useful for dying as well as for cherry brandy I) were planted on some acres of rather difficult land. They did not grow well, and it was decided that the land was too hard. As happens not seldom, a hard pan had been formed that was not congenial to the roots. To break it wholesale methods were devised. At intervals between all the rows charges of high explosives were inserted to a depth of two and a half feet, and the whole field, so to say, blown up. The trees rocked a little, but stood firm. The explosives did the trick, but interfered with the drainage (as between the Passehendaele and Pilkhen ridges), and it became necessary to mole-drain the field. This spring and summer the standard Morellos (themselves an experiment) are growing gloriously well. Whether they are likely to justify the expense after a strictly economic canon, I do not know ; but they at least illustrate the ardour of research and the imaginative zest that dwells our commercial gardens as well as our scientific stations.
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