Knights Treatise

From Ukcider

I am enjoying a slow trawl through this old treatise by T A Knight. It is a pleasure to revel in all that old english phraseology and extract the pearls of wisdom. As Andrew has said there is a fair bit of it that does not stand up against what is known today but there are many things that tickle one's curiosity.

EG. A scion taken from the end of a fruiting branch will, on grafting, produce a fruiting tree much sooner than one taken from a shoot growing directly from the trunk. It sounds right doesn't it? Luckily I think this is what most of us do anyway. Tip pruning is always a handy source of scion wood.

Mr. Knight has given me tremendous encouragement with my current obsession to get the orchard sorted out. For years I've been thinking what a waste of time and effort it is to try and grow apples on top of chalk. Not so our Mr. Knight. He writes of the wonders associated with the red clay soil of Herefordshire but mentions that the finest ciders are produced in those parts of that county having the benefit of a calcareous sub soil. Oh goody good!

Then to my absolute delight he goes on to say "But the strongest and most highly flavoured liquor, which has hitherto been obtained from the apple is produced by a soil which differs from any of the above mentioned, - the shallow loam on limestone basis, of the Forest of Dean". How well this describes my own soil too.

I will beaver away with even greater enthusiasm when I get up there tomorrow!

Finally to encourage us all, it is heartening to see that Mr. knight considers that "fine ciders might be made in almost every part of England" given that the right varieties are grown to compensate for defects of the soil.

Yes, but it does take a few years to work that one out! I'm still learning about varieties versus soil, by trial and error.