Page:VCH Herefordshire 1.djvu/497

 AGRICULTURE and Webley and towards the Hay a shallow hot sandy or stony Ryeland, and exposed to a change- able air from the Disgusts of the Black Mountain, yet here and all over Irchinfield and also about Lemster both towards Keinton and towards Fayremile in all these barren provinces as good store of undeceiving orchards as the richest value in the county even by Frome banks.' In common orchards the trees were planted 20 ft. apart, but in the best 30 ft. at least. The idea of sending fruit to distant markets apparently did not enter Beale's head, for he says 'a small parcel of ground will furnish store for all his household and for all his neighbourhood, and to play away upon graffings and novel experiments.' Yet there must have been an external trade, as many of the old orchards were much too large for only domestic use. It is interesting to learn that ' in vines our gentry have lately contended in a profitable ambition to excel each other, so that the white muscatel is vulgar, the purple and black grape frequent, the Parsley grape and Frontiniack in many hands.' ^^ Unfortunately, the writer does not say if these grapes were grown under glass or in open vineyards as in the Middle Ages. ' Herefordshire,' says Marshall in 1788,'' 'has ever borne the name of the first cider county.' The management of orchards and their produce was, however, far from being well understood, and farmers had only tried to supply their own immoderate consumption, but the late extension of canals and ' the present facility of land carriage ' were expected to extend the market for cider. All the old fruits at this time had already been lost or were declining. The Red Streak was given up, the Stire apple going off, and the Squash pear could no longer be made to flourish, yet, as we have seen, great efforts were now being made to remedy this. The apple which stood highest in general estimation for cider-making was the Stire, next the Hagloe crab, first produced about 1 7 1 8 at Hagloe, in Gloucestershire, near Ross. Then came the Golden Pippin, the Red Streak, of which only a few old trees remained, the Woodcock, Must, Pauson, Royal Wilding, Dymmock Red, Coccagee, Russets of various kinds ; Bromley, Foxwhelp, Redcrab, and Queening, the last four being all large red apples. Of pears the Squash was in much the largest esteem ; the Oldfield, Barland, Red pear, HufFcap and Sack also being well known as good perry pears. A considerable quantity of the cider and perry made in the county was now sent to external markets,*" the principal one being London, from where and also from Bristol it was sent to the East and West Indies and other foreign markets in bottles. But the consumption at home was much greater, not only London and Bristol, but ' every town of this Island ' as well as Ireland were supplied by Herefordshire. The immediate purchasers, termed ' cidermcn,' for these markets were dealers who lived in the district, chiefly at Upton and Ledbury, but Bristol, too, sent buyers, and of late years London dealers had bought large quantities. The liquor was sold either immediately from the press, or after the first racking, or ready for market in casks, or occasionally in bottles. The growers generally objected to selling the fruit, as thereby they lost the washing of the ' must ' for family liquor, and most of the liquor was sold straight from the press, the dealers preferring to have the fermenting of it and an opportunity of suiting the taste of their customers. The London and Bristol dealers had places in or near the county, chiefly at Upton and Hereford, where they worked the liquor they had bought. Prices were much more fluctuating than in these days of foreign competition, a night's frost in the spring would treble prices next day. In the 'great hit' of 1784 common apples sold at from IS. 6d. to 2s. a sack of four corn bushels ; but Stire apples sold at 5^. to 12s. a sack. In 1786 the crop was short, common apples were eagerly sought by dealers and Stire apples fetched from los. to i8j. a sack. In 1788 there was a fine crop and common apples again sold at from is. 6d. to 2s. and Stires at from 6s. to 14J. The price of common cider was generally fixed by the dealers at Hereford October Fair, the growers, as usual, not being consulted. In 178^ the price was settled by them at 1 45. a hogshead of 1 10 gallons, but owing to a sharp frost which spoiled the fruit, the price went up to 25J.'' In 1786 it went up to 5 guineas a hogshead and in 1788 down to 16s., but the ordinary price of common cider was from 25^. to42J. a hogshead, Stire cider, however, was worth /5 to /15 per hogshead. Common perry was generally half a guinea and Squash pear perry as much as j^5 los. a hogshead, and even ^^12 105. from the press had been realized for the latter. The cost of picking, hauling, hoarding, grinding and pressing, if properly done, was 5^. a hogshead, and there were public mills, one of which at Ross charged is. a hogshead, the grower finding the horse, another at Newnham charged 31. a day for the mill and horse. Marshall was astonished at the high prices of bottled cider and perry ; the common price at the inns was is. a quart bottle, sometimes 2s,, which, considering the relative purchasing power of money about 1790 was very high. ^^ Herefs. Orchards, 20. There was a vineyard of 5 acres at Barking Nunnery in the i6th century; see Rogers, Work and Wages, 101. " Rural Econ. of Glouc. ii, 206. ™ Ibid, ii, 364. "The ordinary price of a hogshead barrel then was a guinea, in 1784 it was raised to a guinea and half, so that the cask was worth twice as much as the cider in it. 427