"
The fruit was an important item on the Aldington Manor Farm, and when
later I bought an adjoining farm of seventy acres with orcharding, and
had planted nine acres of plum trees, my total fruit area amounted to
about thirty acres. There was a saying in the neighbourhood which
pleased me greatly, that "it was always harvest at Aldington"; it was
not so much intended to signify that there was always something coming
in, as to convey an impression of the constant activity and employment
of labour that continued throughout the seasons without intermission,
though it was true that with the diversity of my crops and stock,
there was a more or less continuous return. I had a shock when an old
friend in a neighbouring village spoke of me as a "pomologist," the
title seemed much too distinguished, and personally I have never
claimed the right to anything better than the rather pretty old title
of "orchardist."
The position of an orchard is of the utmost importance; shelter is
necessary, but it must be above the ordinary spring frost level of the
district. I should say that no orchard should be less than 150 feet
above sea-level, to be fairly safe, and 200 feet would in nearly any
ordinary spring be quite secure against frost. The climate has a
remarkable effect upon the colour of apples, and colour is one of the
most valuable of market properties, for the ordinary town buyer is a
poor judge of the merits of apples and prefers colour and size to most
other considerations.
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