IRISH GARDENING 



4T 



feeding of our mai'ket.s from August to the eml, of 

 April, avoiding- yluttiun' as far as possible. This 

 can only be done by a better system of storing 

 of our late keeping varieties. The great bulk of 

 our Bramlrys are, year after year, sent to market 

 before the end of February; very often the 

 market is ghitted and small ])rices realised- Tiiis 

 means the consumer has to depend principally 

 on foreign fruit for his supply from the end of 

 February to April ; in other words, we are leaving 

 our markets open for practically three months to 

 growers in other countries, who not alone captvire 

 the markets at our own doors, but rea'ise much 

 higher prices than we obtained for our fruit. The 

 home prices offered for Bramleys this year, during 

 the month of November, was 5s. per cwt. for first 

 grade ; now the offer is raised to 10s. per cwt. 

 l^ast year at the end of March good Bramleys 

 from this county fetched as high as £2 per 10 stone 

 barrel in the Dublin market, although in the early 

 season the prices obtained were not satisfactory. 

 These ligures show the urgent necessit y of giving 

 more attention to the storing, so as to extend our 

 marketing season over a longer period, and give 

 a wider distribvition to our produce. This can 

 be done by adopting a better system of storage. 

 It has been proved by practical exjierience that 

 if we are to keep our late ap])les vmtil March and 

 April we must attend to several items. First, 

 the fruit nxust be well matured on the trees before 

 gathering, selecting dry days for doing so. 

 Second, it must be handled most carefully, not 

 causing the slightest bruise. Third, it should be 

 graded inimediately, when gathering, into select, 

 first and second, grade. 



The grading is of the utmost importance, as the 

 select fruit is always the first to decay, and should 

 be sold oft" when showing signs of over-ripening. 

 The first and second grad"' <an remain foi- a later 

 sale ; whereas if we do not grade when gathering, 

 all must be sold off early as we are in the habit of 

 doing. 



There have been many controversies as to the 

 best methods of storing. " Some recommend trays, 

 nxore lofts, others pits, barrels, earthen floors, 

 and egg cases. From careful observations for a 

 number of years I find the latter the most satis- 

 factory. It has several advantages over any 

 other method, particularly when dealing with 

 large (luantities of fruit. The cases hold about 

 10 stone each, and are easily carried on a hand- 

 barrow from the orchard to the store-room, thus 

 avoiding all jolting and. bruising ; can be tiered 

 over each other 5 or 6 deep, therefore a large 

 (juantity can be fitted into a small space. 



The case, being ])rovided with (l,ivisions on the 

 bottom and sid.es, admits a free circulation of air. 

 and the fruit can be examined from time to time 

 without handling. Many growers store their fruit 

 on earthen floors. Although this method is suc- 

 cessful for early ni;uk't inu. it cannot l)e reconi- 

 mended for ai)])les tlwit ;iic to be kept over until 

 March and A])ril. Kruil stored in this way has 

 ii.lways a tendejicy to become coated, over with 

 moisture in frosty weather, and owing to the lack 

 of a free circulation of air will become mouldy, 

 and consequently lose its blight ap|)earance and 

 crisp flavour. Storing in pits Iwis died out, and. is 

 jiol likely {(> be revived- Fruit stoitd. in barrels 

 will often keep (piite iirm, i-etaining both flavour 

 aiul colour into Mux, but as it cannot be examined 

 from time to time, the risk of (lec.iy setting in 

 unknown to the owner is so <j,ieat that this 

 nu'thod cannot be recommeiuled. 



The system of storing in trays and ])ernianent 

 benches is very suitable for a grower who has a 

 number of varieties to deal with, or for private 

 gardens where the svijjijly for table use has to be 

 kept up from August to May, but it would hardly 

 l)rove economical for the large market grower. 



The next item, we must take into consideration 

 is the storeroom. Many kind-s of structures have 

 been tested. Those that have given the best 

 results are thatched roofs with soutid clean walls, 

 and either earthen or ••eiueut lioois. Iiunislied with 

 ventilators on both ends or .sides. Slate roofs will 

 also suit the |)urpose, providing tlie room is well 

 ceiled- For the first fortnight the fruit is stored, 

 the door and the ventilators should be left open 

 to allow the moisture to pass off" during the 

 sweating stage. Afterwards the door and venti- 

 lators should remain closed., and the temperature 

 of the room should be kept as near as possible 

 between 40 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Equa- 

 bility of temperature is most important, as 

 excessive heat or dry atmosphere will cause 

 shrivelling, whereas too much moisture will cause 

 the fniit to become covered over with mould, and 

 decay will set in. During the ripening stage, 

 api)les are easily contaminated, therefore tlie 

 fruit-room should be thoroughly lime-washed 

 before using, and kejjt free of moist hay and 

 straw and. other heavy-smelling material. 

 Fruiterers have repeatedly told me that their 

 customers will only buy our apples for cooking 

 purposes. I have no hesitation in saying that if 

 we place our fruit on the market free from the 

 musty flavour, which is due to bad storage, we 

 can compete and hold our own against the great 

 bulk of foreign fruit which is sold for dessert 

 purposes. Consumers have a growing tendency to 

 purchase ap])les of good flavovir ; and our aim 

 must be to place them on the market in sound 

 condition, good colour, and crisp flavour. Such 

 fruit will always meet a big demand for both 

 cooking and. dessert purposes. By attemling care- 

 fully to these details we would be giving more 

 satisfaction to the consumer, creating a greater 

 demand and wider distribution for our produce, 

 adding our mite to build u]) a more prosperous 

 fruit-growing industry, and placing our marketing 

 on better lines. 



Several samples of apples were exhibited, and 

 Mr. Hagan pointed out that when they were 

 allowed to remain on the trees till they were ripe 

 they had a nicer appearance, were nmch firmer. 

 and kept better than fruit that was i)ulle(l earlier. 

 There was a tendency, he said., to jiull fruit when 

 a little unripe, but this was not a wise thing to 

 do. The method of storing aiii)les in egg cases 

 had great advantages over the method of storing 

 on floors. 



^W g^^ ^* 



SAXIKr,AG.\ •■ CllEKHYTrtKES." 



Tjiis (b'lightful plant seems in danger of being 

 lost to cultivation, as it is now rarely seen in 

 gardens, and few nurserymen catalogue it. 

 Exactly what its requiniuents are lu'ver seems 

 to have been discovered.. This is a ]>ity, since 

 it is certainly (Uie of t-he best of its class. ^\v. 

 Murray Flornihrook, in one of his delightful 

 articles, alludes to S. Cherrytri'ts. renuirking on 

 its ca])ricious nature. If readers of litisii 

 GARDKNlN(i who have grown this ])lant would 

 give their experiences in different soils and 

 situati(.iis, i)erhaps yet the secret of cultivation 

 might be found out. Al.lMNI.ST. 



