Historical meadows and orchards

The meadow-orchard’s main feature is the tree-shaded grassland that provides fodder and pasture. Trees and grass each have their own part to play, growing alongside each other and interacting. Beneath the trees, protected from winter frosts, the grass grows more quickly; in summer, it is less subject to evaporation and has a quality all its own (not as coarse as in the open fields, where it contains more cellulose). It only needed to be cut twice to produce enough hay. Cattle were seldom allowed to graze in them in case they damaged the soil or choked on the fruit (when cows had to be driven across or alongside an orchard, they were muzzled). They were given access more readily in the autumn, after the apples had been picked.