It is never a good idea to dig in quantities of dung or well-rotted compost before planting unless the soil is particularly light and it is known that it is extremely poor and lacking in humus.

For a 50-acre fruit farm you could have 3 acres of strawberries, 3 acres of raspberries, 5 acres of blackcurrants, 2 acres of blackberries, 5 acres of plums, and 32 acres for early and late apples and pears. The actual choice of the soft fruits and hard fruits to be grown will depend on the type of soil and the man or woman who is prepared to invest such a large sum would be well advised to call in an expert adviser by applying to the Honorary Secretary of the British Association of Consultants in Agriculture and Horticulture, who will be found at The Horticultural Advisory Bureau, Thaxted, Essex. An expert adviser, for a fee, would then he willing to visit the land, make the necessary soil borings and advise on the general planning.

Soft fruits, like the top fruits, should be planted in November and even late in October. The exception to the rule is, of course, the strawberry, which should be planted in August or at least early September. With this fruit the soil must be friable at planting time. A good hole should be made with a trowel so that the roots can be spaced out and planted fairly horizontal.

It is fatal to plant strawberries with their roots bunched up or with a dibber so that the roots are vertical. Plant so that the roots and the bulb-like base of the crown is covered with soil, but see to it that the top of the crown and all the leaves are above soil level. With all soft fruits, of course, the soil must be absolutely clean and free from perennial weeds.

With blackcurrants the gardener should aim at planting the bushes sufficiently deeply so that the base of the young shoots is covered an inch deep with soil.

Great thought has been given to succession as well as to eliminating the need for expensive varieties used and the stocks on which they are grafted, where this is necessary, do ensure that the trees and bushes come into bearing as quickly as possible. It is recommended with these gardens that the anglicized lorette method of pruning be carried out in respect of the apples and pears, and that in order to get satisfactory size of fruit, thinning should be done in the young stages with gooseberries, plums, apples and pears.