the; SECRETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 217 



AMERICAN APPLES IN ENGLAND. 



It will be a, good plan for our apple-growers to ponder over the following 

 item, written by a correspondent of the English Garden : 



" In Convent Garden I hear a very good account of Canadian apples, and was 

 :surprised to learn they were beating the American produce out of the field. 

 There seems some reason for this, as the Canadian apples are better packed ; 

 the American barrels are usually "topped up," in market parlance — a layer 

 •or two of good fruit at the top, and then fruit of a poor quality below. On 

 the other hand, the Canadian fruit is generally fairly good throughout, the 

 barrels are well packed, and considerably larger than those of the Americans. 

 A very excellent apple, which has been coming in large quantities, is what is 

 •called the Golden Eusset; it has a high and rich flavor. In some sales lately, 

 Canadians, when compared with Americans, were in the proportion of over six 

 to one. This must be very encouraging to the Canadians, and should teach 

 the Americans to pack honestly if they wish to keep their trade." 



AMERICAN APPLES ABROAD. 



We have in many places alluded to the shame attending the "slipshod" 

 methods of packing American apples for European markets. An English 

 ;paper that happened to fall into our hands contains the following suggestive 

 paragraph : 



There are few greater treats in early spring than the magnificent apples 

 imported from America, on the dessert tables in England, but many, however, 

 arrive in bad condition, with more or less bruising and fermentation, to the 

 injury of the name of American orchardists and shippers. The following mode 

 •of packing is therefore recommended : Wrap every specimen in three coats of 

 -soft tissue paper which has been soaked in a solution of salicylic acid and 

 dried. The alcoholic solution of this acid is recommended, made with the 

 •strongest spirit, and then diluted with as much water as it will bear without 

 precipitating the acid. The cost of this preparation, it is asserted, -would be a 

 mere trifle compared with the splendid condition of the fruit when entering 

 the London market. 



GATHERING PEARS. 



A correspondent of the New York Tribune says : Nine-tenths of the peo- 

 ple who grow them don't know when to gather pears. Nearly all should be 

 picked from three to 15 days before ripe, according to the variety, and then 

 kept in a cool, shady place. I have one kind (name unknown) three inches in 

 diameter, or nine inches round in the largest part, and three inches long 

 from stem to calyx, straight through the center. It is bright pink on one 

 side and pale bright yelloAv on the other, — a very handsome fruit. It began 

 to ripen this season August 10, and all had to be picked by the 25th. If suf- 

 fered to become mellow on the tree it almost invariably rotted inside, leaving 

 a hard dry crust with a tough skin about half an inch thick all round, tart, 

 indigestible and unfit to eat. But picked as soon as well colored and kept from 



