THE FLOKAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 311 



balanced. If any of the trees are inclined to grow too compact, a 

 few of the leading branches ought to be drawn out and fastened with 

 a few stakes, to let light and air into the centre of the tree. Every 

 one who takes an interest in his garden should have a good garden 

 engine, for wasliing the foliage of the shrubs on the lawn and the 

 foliage of the plants in the beds. But it is doubly necessary if it is 

 desired to excel in fruit cultivation, more especially if the garden is 

 in the vicinity of a large town. The leaves get covered with dust 

 and soot, which seal up every pore, thus rendering respiration im- 

 possible. A good wash overhead with a garden engine will cleanse 

 the trees, and keep them in capital health, and at the same time be 

 a nice exercise for the operator. Pasteboard syringes are useless ; 

 they cause a large amount of fatigue, soon get out of order, and do 

 but little good. A few modifications of the pruning the different 

 fruits may in one or two instances be necessary, but in the main 

 what will suit one will do for the other ; so that it is not necessary 

 for me to go through the whole routine of every one. 



Emit gathering and storing is but little understood, therefore I 

 had better say a few words about it, although I feel that I am taking^ 

 up too much space already. Plums and cherries are, of course, 

 gathered when they are quite ripe ; but apples and pears, even the 

 early sorts, are best gathered before they are ripe. I find the 

 early sorts are a far better flavour and much juicier when gathered, 

 and allowed to ripen in a room. The late-keeping sorts must be 

 gathered when the pips are dark brown or black, and the stalks 

 part readily from the trees. About the last week in September and 

 the first and second in October is the best time for gathering the 

 general crop of late sorts. As a rule, the fruit is fit for gathering 

 when the stalk will part from the tree by simply lifting it up, but 

 without pulling. They should be carefully gathered and conveyed 

 to the fruit-room in baskets without bruising, and spread out singly 

 on the shelves. I keep lots of my fruit on the floor of a spare room, 

 and I find it keeps very well ; but a proper fruit-room is the best. 

 The main thing is to keep the room dark and at an equable tem- 

 perature. If the apple-trees should get infested with American 

 blight, "Eowler's Insecticide," mixed according to the directions 

 accompanying it, or Gishurst's Compound, sixteen ounces to the 

 gallon, and applied with an ordinary painter's brush, are capital 

 remedies. 



In giving a list of sorts, I would just remark that the sorts 

 should be kept together, and not all mixed up, as is often the case. 

 All the following kinds will do on the stocks I have mentioned 

 above, and as pyramids in the open quarters, excepting in the north, 

 where the choicest kinds of all the fruits require a wall to bring 

 them to perfection. It may be as well to observe, that none of the 

 trees should be over-cropped, or the fruit will be small and poor in 

 flavour. It should be judiciously thinned out, directly the fruit is 

 larrre enoujzh for the cultivator to see which will stand. AVe will 

 begin with the 



Apples. — Twelve dessert a2)j)les — White Juneating, Quarrenden, 

 Kerry Pippin, Early Nonpareil, Cox's Orange Pippin, Eibston 



