The Orchard stretched up behind the house. It had been started from scratch and from necessity. Working underground on the mines had eventually and dramatically taken its toll on our neighbour’s health. There had been the regular 6 weekly check-ups for miner’s disease (silicosis) which were supposed to show up and monitor the disease if it had taken hold. This would enable treatment to commence early with better chance of success. Unfortunately in our neighbours case, the system had been a complete failure and at the last check up, the disease was in its final stage.

Actually, it was stimulating. The ground needed to be cleared, fruit varieties chosen, a means of watering them installed, ways to keep them healthy researched, the best way to pick them worked out and the optimum time to do so too, markets to be found and the many other issues addressed which were involved in getting everything up and running as smoothly as possible. It began with a focus on the market provided by the labour force at the nearby power station. A trading store was opened which gave an immediate daily income. Of course there was also an income from the mine by way of a disability pension. This was a lifeline but insufficient to feed and house a growing family.

While the fruit trees grew the store supplemented the income. Eventually though, the power station was closed down. It was probably activated by coal judging from the huge tanks filled with water and the amount of smoke and steam billowing into the sky.

In order to tap the underground water for irrigation purposes, several boreholes were drilled in carefully selected, likely-looking sites. None of them gave anything approaching a sufficient yield to provide for the fruit trees. Eventually an expert came along who suggested that a borehole should be drilled down into the solid granite that cropped the ridge which formed one boundary of the property. This was done. The yield was prolific. It was so unexpected; one does not normally find the water up on the top of a hill!

Oranges were the main crop. All laid out neatly with their troughs at gound level to absorb the water. The main variety was Washington Navels, apparently naturally of Brazilian origin. They were big orangey oranges with a lightly corrugated skin. Easy to peel with the juiciest segments ever. At the base of each was the navel – itself segments of orange, small and juicy. The crop provided the nearby mine and town with fruit as well as serving the bigger town where the High School was, 20 miles away.

The other variety of orange grown was Valencia Late, said by some to be the world’s most important orange, though the reason for this is hard to fathom, a miserable sour variety of orange that was hard to sell and harder still to eat enthusiastically. Fortunately there were far fewer of these trees planted.

Lemons, limes, olives, peaches, apples and bananas were all grown but the demand for these was far less.

Mangoes, however, were very popular but were so nice that to share or sell them was a sacrifice. There are few fruit which stand out and these mangoes were one of them. Two variety grew and it was hard to decide which was the better, the large fleshy stringless type - Bowen Special or the smaller tight very sweet type - possibly the Alphonso. The difference was that large slices could be cut from the big ones whereas the smaller ones were strictly a one-man treat.

Any country with the natural resources to grow this crop should take up the challenge and exploit the opportunity to do so. The flesh should be dried and exported, not tinned. No sugar needs to be added as dried mango strips make the most delicious snack.

The figs were eaten straight from the tree. Marketing them never got beyond the back foot probably because their packaging was difficult. However they were often turned into fig preserve – 100% pure fruit jam. Where do you find such a thing today? Read the label and it will tell you you have 45% pure fruit if you are fortunate. It’s never really clear what the remaining 55% is: some say it’s pumpkin and it may well be so.

The last point of note was the orange preserve. The orange was washed and lightly peeled. Four cuts were made in it in such a way that you could concertina it flat. Then you cooked it slowly in a syrup for several hours. Orange preserve – what better way to start the morning meal?

The smallholding combined the orchard with poultry and a dairy. It was successful in that it provided the necessary income for the growing family.

If you enjoyed the article and might like to try your hand at making orange conserve go to:

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Use the page section on the right hand side to find the recipe for orange conserve. You may like to take advantage of your visit to the online store to view some of the lastest deals for kayaks and canoes. For instance most Sevylor products currently have free shipping on a shopping trolley of over twenty five dollars.