Woods, Hedges and Fields - Gower - page 272

were still more or less intact. Only one of these six showed little or no tree loss, the remaining five be-
ing used for grazing, or for the storage of farm machinery. The residual sites are indicated by odd trees
scattered around the area of the former orchard. A number of orchards have also been lost due to housing
developments on the edge of Swansea, such as the development at Dunvant known as 'Y Berllan', the
word berllan always signifying orchards in the Welsh language. A house built in 1894, beside the road
from Caswell to Bishopston, was also originally called Berllan because it stood on the site of an old orch-
ard.
Traditional orchards have many features that make them of value to wildlife and even in their present
derelict state the Gower examples are important (Fig. 154). Fruit trees are relatively short-lived and as a
consequence produce decaying wood more quickly than most native hardwoods, making them important
refuges for invertebrates, and for hole-nesting and insectivorous birds. Old fruit trees are also an import-
ant habitat for mosses, liverworts and lichens, though there has not been a comprehensive survey of the
remnant orchards. The tree blossom itself provides an early source of nectar for bees, moths and other
insects that in turn attract a variety of birds. In the summer the canopy provides nesting sites and food for
insect-eating summer migrants while in the autumn the fallen fruit provides a source of food for a wide
range of animals, including insects, mammals and birds, particularly song thrushes, fieldfares Turdus pil-
aris and redwings T. iliacus . Orchards can also have a herb-rich grassland sward, which may be managed
asameadow orpasture, while shadier sites cangiverisetoplant communities that aremoretypical ofthe
flora of hedgebanks. Yellow meadow ant mounds are often found in old undisturbed grasslands such as
orchards.
FIG 154. Apple orchard at Frogmore Farm, the best remaining orchard in Gower. (Harold Grenfell)
TherehasbeenalmostnoresearchontheGowerorchards,andinformationisneededbothonthewild-
life of these areas and on the particular varieties of fruit tree that occur. The Glamorgan County History
(Tattersall, 1936) describes the varieties grown in the county as mostly culinary, such as Bramley Seed-
ling, Newton Wonder, Lord Derby and Lane's Prince Albert, with some dessert apples including Beauty