Lawson (William). A New Orchard and Garden, 1618

Lawson (William). A New Orchard and Garden. Or The best way for planting, grafting, and to make the ground good, for a rich Orchard: Particularly in the North parts of England: generally for the whole kingdome, as in nature, reason, scituation, and all probability, may and doth appeare. With the Country Housewifes Garden for hearbes of common use, their vertues, seasons, profites, ornaments, variety of knots, models for trees, and plots for the best ordering of grounds and walkes. As also the Husbandry of Bees, with their seuerall uses and annoyances, all grounded on the Principles of Art, and precepts of experience, being the Labours of forty eight yeares of William Lawson, 1st edition, London: Bar: Alsop for Roger Jackson, 1618, pp. [8], 59, [1]; [2], 1-4, 7-25, [1], woodcut illustration to title (lined with archival tissue to verso), woodcut illustrations to text, black letter text, title to second part with imprint dated 1617, second part with separate pagination and lacking leaf K2 (p. 5/6), lower outer blank corner of final leaf torn and leaf lined to verso with archival tissue, repaired closed tear to D1, leaves D2-D3 misbound with M1-M3, some damp-staining mostly to margins, toning and light dust-soiling, modern brown buckram, 4to (Quantity: 1) Provenance: Frederick Alkmund Roach OBE (1909-2004). Henrey 226; STC 15329. Frederick Roach was one of the most acclaimed fruit experts of the 20th century. He decided on a career in horticulture at the age of 10 while helping to run his father's rectory garden in Toft, Lincolnshire. During the Second World War Roach was part of the Dig for Victory campaign and, in 1946, he was made chief horticultural officer of the newly formed National Agricultural Advisory Service. He became successively regional fruit adviser for the South West and South East before taking the post of national fruit adviser. Retirement from the ministry in 1972 triggered a new career as a consultant to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Bank. Roach's book, Cultivated Fruits of Britain, Their Origin and History (1985), is still regarded as a bible for many fruit experts. This was followed by the descriptive texts for Hooker's Finest Fruits, which was published by the Royal Horticultural Society in 1989. In 1966 he was awarded the Ridley Medal of the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers. The Royal Horticultural Society awarded him the Veitch Memorial Medal in 1978. Other illustrious winners of the award include Gertrude Jekyll (1928), Francis Kingdon-Ward (1934), Vita Sackville-West (1955), Harold Hillier (1957), Roy Lancaster (1972), David Austin (1994) and Stefan Buczacki (2010).