John Nash: Spring at last

Spring at last!

John Nash is a retired, well sort of retired, fruit farm manager in Kirdford who enjoys scribbling about life on the farm from the now to days gone by.

At last, dear reader, we have the joy of summer knocking at our door. The lovely month of May has arrived with the glory of blossom on the bough and the promise of fruit for the autumn to come.

May also heralds the early visitors that join us each year as the weather warms and the days extend. Some we welcome, while others we would gladly see the back of as soon as they arrive. Aphids chomp merrily on the fresh green leaves of virtually every plant, shrub, and tree in the garden, while freshly hatched caterpillars make merry on our newly planted vegetables or delicately inter themselves in the flesh of new born apples and plums to await our surprise when we find them again as we bite into the juicy flesh at harvest time.

There is one critter, though, that I am particularly fond of. Some folk I know are not so keen on it… but I will try here to change their minds.

I refer to the Maybug… or Maybeetle… or Doodlebug. Its correct name is Cockchafer.

I just love the bumbling flight that these large members of the Scarabaeidae family have as they bump and blunder their way round a room like living dodgem cars on warm May evenings.

Completely harmless to us, they just give the appearance of miniature flying machines which are being guided by a pilot who is either blindfolded or has spent far too long at the pub before heading homewards.

They do, however, have a very interesting history. Once abundant throughout Europe they were nearly eradicated in the middle of the 20th century through pesticides and agricultural intensification. Thankfully with the regulation of pest control in the 1980’s they have started to increase in numbers again.

Way back in time cockchafers lived in huge numbers which gave rise to some bizarre events. In 1320 for instance, after heavy swarms of them had almost reached plague proportions cockchafers were

brought to court in Avignon and were actually given three days to withdraw to specified areas. Of course they didn’t, so… after the allotted time… as many as possible were collected and killed! (Apparently it was not an uncommon event in those days for wayward animals to be taken to court in ‘Animal Trials’). So, anyway, what about these blundering insects. Adults appear in late April or early May and only live from five to seven weeks. The females start to lay after two weeks, burying their eggs up to 20cm in the earth close to trees. Their preferred food is oak leaves and conifer needles hence in the old days of large swarms they could do great damage to forestry crops. The young hatch into grubs and live from three to five years before changing into their adult form. As youngsters, though, they spend their time chomping on plant roots and would indeed do harm to any potato or similar root crop if they should once more explode into large numbers. The way to tell the males from the females is the number of ‘leaves’ on their antennas. The males have seven (see photo), the females just six. So there it is. A potted history of this gentle, bumbling beetle that I look forward to seeing once more as the days lengthen and the warm summer evenings return. By the way, if you are not so fond of them you can try this 19th century recipe from France: Take one pound of cockchafers, remove wings and legs and roast in butter. Then cook in chicken soup, add veal liver, and serve with chives on toast. How about that for an evening snack! Or from 1920, a German recipe suggests that sugarcoated cockchafers made ideal snacks for hungry students! This, I suggest, is more likely to be enjoyed as I seem to recall that most students will eat anything! Personally, I’m happy just listening to one of them clumping, buzzing and bumping his way round the bedroom as he searches for the open window! How about you? John Nash Knobbed Russet

An occasional mini-series on apple varieties… So far the apples I’ve shown are relatively pretty… or at least look edible.

Today’s may not be so appetising to you all. This is the aptly named Knobby or Knobbed Russet also known as Winter Russet and Old Maids.

Many say that it resembles a potato more than an apple, sometimes called the worlds ugliest apple. However, the taste of this fruit is quite pleasant. The flesh is cream coloured, fine textured and dense, and although it’s not particularly juicy it does have a sweet flavour with hints of spice and citrus.

It’s picked very late, October at the earliest, and stores very well, keeping for up to four months if kept cool. It was discovered in Sussex in 1820 by Haslar Capron who gave it to the London Horticultural Society. It can still be found in specialist nurseries although it can be a difficult apple to grow well. I can well understand why it never took off – can you see this on display in Tesco? No, neither can I.

Point of interest… Haslar Capron lived in Lodsworth, Midhurst. John Nash