182 



HINTS FOR THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



varieties, in the hope of ascertaining some- 

 thing farther of its comparative value as a 

 stock for the pear. My attempts to raise 

 seedlings from the native variety have 

 hitherto been unsuccessful ; a small insect 

 devouring the plants as soon as they ap- 

 peared above ground. 



I am satisfied that fair, handsome, and 

 delicious pears can be produced on the Ash, 

 and in soil uncongenial both to the pear 

 and quince stocks ; but whether it be pre- 



ferable to work large trees in the limbs, or 

 small ones in the nursery, whether to em- 

 ploy the native or foreign variety, or if 

 there be any difference in them as stocks, 

 what varieties are best suited to the one or 

 the other, and upon what soils either will 

 best succeed, are matters upon which I 

 would gladly be enlightened, and think 

 the subject offers a promising field for in- 

 vestigation. S. L. Goodale. 



Saco, Me., August, 1819. 



HINTS FOR THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



BY It. ERRINGTON.* 



Gathering and Storing Fruit. — As mat- 

 ter appropriate to the season, we will en- 

 deavor to offer a little sound advice on this 

 head; a subject which concerns equally the 

 humblest cottager and the most wealthy 

 proprietor. 



The most important feature to consider 

 at the outset of the question is the fact that 

 all unripe fruit, such as apples and pears — 

 fruit, we mean, in which the ripening pro- 

 cess is not quite complete — ferment exceed- 

 ingly when first housed ; and that this fer- 

 mentation, after spending itself for a fort- 

 night or so, gradually subsides, and by the 

 time the fruit has been a couple of months 

 or so in the store-room becomes impercep- 

 tible, although it never entirely ceases as 

 long as any moisture remains. The first 

 requisite in fruit gathering is, of course, 

 care in the handling. No one can suppose 

 that an apple torn from the tree at random, 

 leaving its footstalk behind, will possess 

 equal keeping capabilities with one slipped 

 off with that peculiar twist well known to 

 practical men, and which saves the fruit 

 from abuse. In almost all cases, the fruit 

 requires lifting slightly afterwards, and 

 good gatherers generally take hold of the 

 bough or branchlct with the left hand to 

 steady it, whilst with the right they gently 

 raise the fruit upwards ; this, if the fruit is 

 as far advanced towards ripening as it 

 ought to be, will generally cause the fruit 



to detach itself. We do not mean to say 

 that those who have extensive orchards, 

 and who have, perhaps, many hundred 

 bushels of apples to collect, can pursue such 

 a nice operation through the whole of their 

 trees; these have not the same object in 

 view as the amateur or cottager, and make 

 use of expediencies which would be quite 

 incompatible with the objects of small gar- 

 deners. We, therefore, merely point to 

 the course necessary to be pursued by those 

 who look forward to a nice succession of 

 fruit through a tedious winter and pro- 

 tracted spring, whether for home consump- 

 tion or for sale. 



Many instruments have been invented 

 whereby to facilitate the gathering of fruit, 

 and some of them will be found very use- 

 ful helpmates to the amateur especially, 

 who is in many cases not so well drilled in 

 such rule-of-thumb matters as the ordinary 

 gardener. Amongst them we would par- 

 ticularize a most convenient ladder, which 

 is equally adapted for pruning standard 

 trees, or for gathering their produce ; the 

 accompanying sketch will convey some idea 

 of it. It is 12 feet in length, and may be 

 thus described : — At A A are iron loops, by 

 means of which the legs, C C, work in every 

 direction, and by which they can be stretch- 

 ed to a proper distance: these legs fold up 

 to the ladder when about to be removed, 



[* From the Cotlage Gardener, London.] 



