306 [Senate 



a layer of apples ; followed by another stratum of chaff and lime, and 

 another of apples, and so on till full. The barrel is then headed up. 

 The lime not only preserves great dryness without causing shrivel- 

 ling, but absorbs gases which may be generated by putrefactive fer- 

 mentation, and thus prevents the evil from spreading. A quart of 

 lime for a barrel of apples, is abundant. 



" When winter fruit is buried in the ground for long keeping, it 

 should be placed in a box, or on a bed of straw, and be well covered 

 with the same, so as not to come into contact with the damp earth, 

 which causes it to swell, crack, and lose its flavor ; and to prevent it 

 from becoming musty, it should be kept in an out-house till the 

 ground begins to freeze. We have never known fruit to be damaged, 

 that was treated in this manner, and then timely removed in the 

 spring.* 



USES OF APPLES, AND PROFITS OF THEIR CULTURE. 



The apple is valuable to the farmer as a table fruit, for culinary 

 purposes, for feeding domestic animals, and for market. 



It is hardly necessary to remark, that for table use, the best and 

 -most delicious varieties are to be selected, and their excellence main- 

 tained by good cultivation. 



For culinary purposes , it is generally supposed, that fruit of infe- 

 rior quality will answer ; but this supposition is founded in error.. 

 The finest apples befoie cooking are generally found the most so af- 

 ter cooking. The amount of sugar, and other ingredients, often applied 

 to make bad apples good, for intended dishes, is in many cases more than 

 enough to buy good apples sugar and all, for the same purposes. 

 The writer has found it more economical to purchase Fall Pippins 

 for stewing, at thirty-one cents per bushel, than many other inferior 

 varieties which could be had for twelve cents. There are also some 

 disheSj which, with good varieties, are delicious, but would be entire 

 failures without, f 



•David Thomas, in Trans. New York State Agricultural Society, Tol. I. 



•j- This may be illustrated by a single case. An apple-indian-pudding is made by the 

 use of sweet fruU, without the use of any sugar whatever; but so excellent is its flavor, 

 that it is almost impossible to convince a person on first tasting it, that other sweetening 

 than the apple, has not been very largely used. This is easily tested by making the pud- 

 ding, which is done as follows: — Fill a three-quart pan with Tallman Sweetings, or other 

 equally rich and sweet fruit pared and quartered ; pour in milk to the bi-im ; boil the 

 whole, stir in half a pint of Indian meal and a teaspoon of salt ; then bake it several 

 hours- 



