Tweet
A few months ago, I read George Orwell's Diaries (ed. Peter Davison, Harvill Secker, 2009), having been an admirer of Orwell since my teens. As well as a novelist, essayist and journalist, Orwell was a keen fruit and vegetable grower, and also kept hens and goats, in two periods in his life, at Wallington in Hertfordshire in the late 30s, and at Barnhill, at the North-Eastern end of the Isle of Jura, in the Inner Hebrides, in the late 40s. His domestic diaries for both periods are fascinating for modern fruit and vegetable growers and livestock-keepers, as an insight into how practices have changed. Orwell certainly wasn't an organic gardener: he chucked artificial chemicals around with gay abandon; but so did everyone then, apart from a few far-sighted pioneers.
On Jura, as well as writing 'Nineteen Eighty-four', he engaged in gardening feats which would have been impressive in a fully-fit man, which he certainly wasn't by then: one day, for example, he planted 72 trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. In particular, he planted ten apple trees, two as espaliers against a south-facing wall, and the other eight in two staggered rows of four, Southwards from them. He drew a sketch-map of what he'd planted where, reproduced in the book: three of the varieties are marked but not named, though since he'd already planted them, I don't know why that should be: maybe he'd bought three lost-label trees as a cheap job-lot.
Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to list his varieties, and see what the fruit experts on here thinkof his choices. They were:
Espaliers against South wall of house:
West, unnamed (question-mark against it on sketch-map); East, Golden Spire.
Western row, Southwards from house:
Allington Pippin, Ribston Pippin, Lord Derby, unnamed.
Eastern row:
Ellison's Orange, unnamed, James Grieve, Lady Sudeley.
Having looked up these varieties in 'The New Book of Apples' by Morgan, Richards and Dowle, and noted their pollenation dates, types, seasons, and dates of introduction, a few things occur to me: he might have had trouble getting 'Golden Spire' pollenated. It's the earliest flowerer of the named ones, and not particularly close in blossom-period to any of the others. 'Ribston Pippin', nearest in blossom-period to it, is triploid, so couldn't help, but could probably itself be pollenated by 'James Grieve', which in turn could pollenate, and be pollenated by, 'Ellison's Orange' and 'Lady Sudeley', which could also pollenate 'Lord Derby'. Maybe there were crab-apples growing nearby that he was counting on to pollenate 'Golden Spire', or on at least one of the unnamed trees.
He didn't pay much attention to getting the longest possible season of use; all of these are harvested in September or October, and some will keep until December or January if stored well, so he had plenty of apples for at most five months of the year, and none for seven or more. On the other hand, he did go for a good mix of types by use: two cookers, two dual-purpose, and three eaters. He went for oldish, traditional British varieties, which is typical of his love of old-fashioned, traditional British life in general, though he was well aware of the evils of those times. The oldest is 'Ribston Pippin', from c.1707, and the youngest 'Ellison's Orange', from 1904 - 43 years old in 1947, when Orwell planted his apples. I don't know whether Cox and Bramley had swept all before them in 1947, the way they have now, but it's noticable that he didn't plant them. I'd like to think he had the same idea as me, to grow old-fashioned varieties not so easily available in shops (not that he had much access to shops at Barnhill - the nearest shop, and the only one on the island, was 27 miles away by road at Craighouse, at the other end of the island, and the road there was only a rough track for much of its length, and Orwell only had a motor-bike, no car, and petrol was rationed, so he had to be fairly self-sufficient). I don't know whether dwarfing and semi-dwarfing rootstocks were available in 1947, or if Orwell used them if they were.
As far as the practicalities of fruit cultivation are concerned, it should be noticed that the Hebrides have a milder climate than their Northern location might lead you to expect, benefitting as they do from the Gulf Stream.
From November, I will have two of Orwell's apples in my own garden: 'James Grieve' (which I've already got), and 'Ribston Pippin', which is ordered. That Orwell grew it is one reason why I chose 'Ribston Pippin'. One day, I'll visit Jura and make a pilgrimage to Barnhills, and see if his apple trees have survived.
On Jura, as well as writing 'Nineteen Eighty-four', he engaged in gardening feats which would have been impressive in a fully-fit man, which he certainly wasn't by then: one day, for example, he planted 72 trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. In particular, he planted ten apple trees, two as espaliers against a south-facing wall, and the other eight in two staggered rows of four, Southwards from them. He drew a sketch-map of what he'd planted where, reproduced in the book: three of the varieties are marked but not named, though since he'd already planted them, I don't know why that should be: maybe he'd bought three lost-label trees as a cheap job-lot.
Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to list his varieties, and see what the fruit experts on here thinkof his choices. They were:
Espaliers against South wall of house:
West, unnamed (question-mark against it on sketch-map); East, Golden Spire.
Western row, Southwards from house:
Allington Pippin, Ribston Pippin, Lord Derby, unnamed.
Eastern row:
Ellison's Orange, unnamed, James Grieve, Lady Sudeley.
Having looked up these varieties in 'The New Book of Apples' by Morgan, Richards and Dowle, and noted their pollenation dates, types, seasons, and dates of introduction, a few things occur to me: he might have had trouble getting 'Golden Spire' pollenated. It's the earliest flowerer of the named ones, and not particularly close in blossom-period to any of the others. 'Ribston Pippin', nearest in blossom-period to it, is triploid, so couldn't help, but could probably itself be pollenated by 'James Grieve', which in turn could pollenate, and be pollenated by, 'Ellison's Orange' and 'Lady Sudeley', which could also pollenate 'Lord Derby'. Maybe there were crab-apples growing nearby that he was counting on to pollenate 'Golden Spire', or on at least one of the unnamed trees.
He didn't pay much attention to getting the longest possible season of use; all of these are harvested in September or October, and some will keep until December or January if stored well, so he had plenty of apples for at most five months of the year, and none for seven or more. On the other hand, he did go for a good mix of types by use: two cookers, two dual-purpose, and three eaters. He went for oldish, traditional British varieties, which is typical of his love of old-fashioned, traditional British life in general, though he was well aware of the evils of those times. The oldest is 'Ribston Pippin', from c.1707, and the youngest 'Ellison's Orange', from 1904 - 43 years old in 1947, when Orwell planted his apples. I don't know whether Cox and Bramley had swept all before them in 1947, the way they have now, but it's noticable that he didn't plant them. I'd like to think he had the same idea as me, to grow old-fashioned varieties not so easily available in shops (not that he had much access to shops at Barnhill - the nearest shop, and the only one on the island, was 27 miles away by road at Craighouse, at the other end of the island, and the road there was only a rough track for much of its length, and Orwell only had a motor-bike, no car, and petrol was rationed, so he had to be fairly self-sufficient). I don't know whether dwarfing and semi-dwarfing rootstocks were available in 1947, or if Orwell used them if they were.
As far as the practicalities of fruit cultivation are concerned, it should be noticed that the Hebrides have a milder climate than their Northern location might lead you to expect, benefitting as they do from the Gulf Stream.
From November, I will have two of Orwell's apples in my own garden: 'James Grieve' (which I've already got), and 'Ribston Pippin', which is ordered. That Orwell grew it is one reason why I chose 'Ribston Pippin'. One day, I'll visit Jura and make a pilgrimage to Barnhills, and see if his apple trees have survived.
Comment