184 



HINTS FOR THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



can be set up will apply equally to all 

 fruits. 



We will commence with the apple; here 

 we must at once throw them into two 

 classes, viz., table fruit and kitchen fruit. 

 In the former, it is absolutely necessary 

 that they remain on the tree until they 

 have acquired that depth of flavor for which 

 alone they are esteemed, and which con- 

 stitutes them a separate class. Kitchen 

 apples for Ion? keeping, on the contrary, 

 we would gather a little short of that de- 

 gree of ripeness. There are two acknow- 

 ledged criteria of ripeness universally ad- 

 mitted in the apple; the first, that coloured 

 pips or seeds are an indication ; the second, 

 that on lifting the apple slightly up it parts 

 tolerably easily from the tree without pull- 

 ing hard at it. The last is mostly taken as 

 the test, and we scarcely know of any bet- 

 ter criterion. Much allowance, however, 

 must be made for the kind of fruit ; such 

 as are inclined to be dry or mealy should 

 be gathered somewhat earlier ; those of a 

 subacid character, and abounding in juice, 

 should be allowed to become tolerably ma- 

 ture on the tree. 



Pears. — More skill is necessary in pear 

 than in apple gathering; these are so va- 

 rious in character, that the utmost care is 

 necessary. We would, in most cases, ad- 

 vise the cutting a fruit in two, and judging 

 by the pips ; these should be about three 

 parts coloured in the majority of cases. 

 Any kinds, as the Easter Beurre, which are 

 apt to become insipid, should, by all means, 

 be gathered much earlier. Most of the 

 Flemish kinds, especially such as the 

 Beurre Ranee, the Beurre d'Aremberg, the 

 Glout Morceau, the Passe Colmar, the Win- 

 ter Nelis, the Ne Plus Meuris, &c, should 

 hang until late, unless on a south wall. 

 We have known the Althorpe Crassane to 

 excel all the pears in the garden, but in the 

 majority of seasons it becomes mealy pre- 

 maturely ; this kind is so evidently bred 

 from the old Swan's-egg, that it is folly to 

 place it against a wall, unless a very cool 

 one ; such as this and the Easter Beurre, 

 moreover, do not require that amount of 

 sunlight which such as Winter Nelis and 

 Passe Colmar flourish in ; and for that rea- 

 son we advise the summer spray to be left 

 a greater length in order to shade the fruit. 



Stone Fruit. — Few directions need be 

 given as to these ; almost every possessor 

 of a garden, however limited, knows when 

 to gather a peach, a plum, or a cherry. 

 We may observe, however, that double 

 care is necessary in handling these tender 

 things ; as for peaches, it is almost impos- 

 sible to place two layers in a basket with- 

 out serious mischief. We gather in flat 

 bottomed baskets, placing a layer of soft 

 " rowen" hay (second or third cut,) in the 

 bottom of the basket — a single layer, as 

 before observed — and these are carried at 

 once to the fruit-room, where they are care- 

 fully placed on cap-paper. It requires nice 

 judgment to ascertain when a peach is fit 

 to gather; many persons let them fall on a 

 prepared bed of litter or hay. This, in- 

 deed, is the old plan, and certainly not to 

 be altogether condemned ; we, however, 

 prefer gathering them, relying on long ex- 

 perience, and depending much on the feel, 

 as to whether they seem inclined to leave 

 the tree when handled rightly. Colour is 

 by no means a criterion ; very pale peaches 

 are sometimes more ripe than those which 

 are high coloured. 



Modes of Storing. — These are various. 

 In former days it was deemed essential to 

 ferment apples, by placing them in conical 

 heaps covered up. We opine that few will 

 follow this practice now. We are, indeed, 

 at a loss to conjecture what could have led 

 to the practice; for, as to keeping fruit, 

 they perspire, in the main, too fast: it i3 

 this very perspiration which wars against 

 the keeping properties. To be sure, a cer- 

 tain amount is, doubtless, necessary; pro- 

 bably they could not undergo the chemical 

 change necessary in order to give them a 

 full amount of flavor without a continuous 

 action of the kind. Be that as it may, our 

 main business with keeping fruit is to ar- 

 rest this principle in degree, and to this 

 end the fruit-rooms of modern times are not 

 required to be so excessively dry as for- 

 merly; added to which, darkness is well 

 known in these days to promote the keep- 

 ing of many kinds of fruit. It appears that 

 light acts in conjunction with an advance 

 of temperature in hastening the decay of 

 fruit; and that even light alone, under all cir- 

 cumstances, has a tendency to promote per- 

 spiration or evaporation in vegetable tissue. 



