1 88 



IRISH (J A K D !•: N 1 N G 



1)i;i.i;mi!i;r 



Storairc 



ol 



Fruit. 



Ar tlu- i\'t..'i)t l-"riiil Coiii^iL's^ ;il IL'xIkiiii 

 ;i paper on this siibjoct was road by Mr. 

 W. I>. Little, an abstract of whicli (taken 

 tVoni the Fniif-griKVii) is liere leprodueeil : 



Kverv ye.ir wo find it iioifss.ii y that l.irj;v (.|iiaiitiiies 

 of fruit shoiilil be sloreii by ifrowers aeeoriliiij;^ to the 

 variety oi fruit and tlio eoiidition of the market. In 

 private _i;-.»rdens it also beeomos a neeessity to store 

 fruit, anil the provision of a fruit-room is looUeil upon as 

 an important faeloi- in this work. The iilea of ordinary 

 stor.iifc i>f the majority of soft fruits is not enteitaineil, 

 beeause such fruits will not keep until the ilestruetion of 

 iferm life is eomplete, and to carry this out we resort 

 to fruit bottlinif. With many varieties of apples the 

 ch'?mical chantfes in the substance of the fruit proceeds 

 very rapidly, owing to the hig^h temperature prevailing 

 early in the season. It is very desirable that mid season 

 anil later varieties should be storetl. otherwise their char- 

 acteristics would not be fully developed. Even for 

 cooking, it is necessary to store apples such as Newton 

 Wonder and Bramley Seedling. Nature has made 

 many provisions for bringing about the changes which 

 form ripe fruit changes in the chemical constituents 

 which are somewhat difficult to follow. While in a 

 green state the unripe fruits perform a work some- 

 what similar to that of leaves absoi biiig carbon 

 ilioxide from the atmosphere, and after the breaking 

 up process the oxygen is liberated and the carbon 

 retained to go towards building up the flesh. In 

 apples and pears this is very marked. As ripening 

 begins this process is reversed. Oxygen is absorbed 

 and carbonic acid evolves. If a tree cirries a heavy 

 crop of fruit it carries a large number of seeiis in 

 the fruit. It has more seed than it can develop, and 

 therefore the healthy life of the tree is practically useil 

 up during one season and the energy is lost for the 

 ensuing year. This tells us what to do in regard to 

 thinning. The old method of preserving the freshness 

 of fruit was by immersion in carbonic acid. The fruits 

 should be sound, free from scab and bruises, and be 

 gathered on a dry day. Mr. Little then explained the 

 best method of picking plums, apricots, peaches, 

 nectarines, pears and apples, and went on to say that 

 choice apples or pears can be kept in dry sand in jars. 

 With regard to the ideal fruit room (he proceeded) I 

 can do nothing better than refer you to Messrs. 

 Bunyard, Rivers & X'eitch, who have rooms in which 

 fruit can be kept all the year round. These rooms 

 usually have a great quantity of thatch about them, 

 and I believe Mr. River's room is practically under 

 the ground. 



Amateurs can use an outside shed that can be 

 adapted so as to secure a cool, steady atmosphere and 

 circulation ot air on the floor. There should also be 

 the necessary facilities for ventilation. The windows 

 and doors should fit very closely. The roof and sides 

 could be thatched with wood, furze, or ling, and the 

 inside could be match-lined ; this lining being packed 

 with sawdust to exclude frost. It is good to occasion- 

 all}- damp the floor. Sliding trays can be used for hold- 



ing; the fruit, ,ind tluy lake up vi-iy little loom. Kram- 

 Uy's .Soi'dling anil some oilier varieties can be sloreil in 

 bulk with s.ifety. .\l Wobui ntliey found Hramiey'.s .Seed- 

 ling storeil in a big he.ip. kept praclic.illy .is well as those 

 i^u the shelves. Some people pit their apples and pears 

 ill the same w.iy as potatoes, covered with ;i l.iyer y>i soil 

 iiu top of a thickness of straw, and this method h.is 

 given excellent results. To avoid the communii ation 

 of a flavoui- fVo;ii llie str.iw to the fruit I suggest cover- 

 ing the fruit with brown paper first. In that condition 

 the top fiuiis may get ;i rather peeuliar flavour, but llu- 

 majority will not. .\ drawback, however, is the 

 ilillicultN- o\' ge.ting the fruit when wanted for use, ;tnd 

 I woulil rather suggi-st the erection of a hut with walls 

 oi half-briek thickness and about 4 feet or 5 feet high, 

 .'ind th.it the walls bj packed round with turves, and .1 

 galvanised iron roof also covered with turves, and thin 

 more galvanised iron to run oft" the water. It is best to 

 have a circulation of air through the fruit room for 

 three or four weeks, and afterwards no air is necessary 

 e.xcept what gets in when the door is opened to enter. 

 Thirty-five degrees to forty degrees was the tempera- 

 ture recommended by some men, and it shoulil never be 

 allowed to become dry. I-Vuit can also be kept a long 

 time in a barrel, sunk half its depth and then covered 

 with soil. 



The First "' Irish Yew." 



I.\ an account o^ Lord Knniskillen's Irish estate in 

 the Estate Muirazine there are some particulars of 

 the famous yew tree at Florence Court Castle, the Earl's 

 seat. This tree is the parent of the countless thousands 

 of Florence Court or Irish Yews that now flourish 

 throughout the world, every one grown from cuttings 

 from this tree or its descendants. Accoiding to local 

 authorities upon the subject the tree originateil as a 

 sport. Two were originally found growing in a wild state 

 by a Mr. Willis when out coursing for hares in or about 

 the ye.ir 1767 on a rock in the mountain above P'lorence 

 Court. Those he dug up, and planted one in his own 

 garden, and took the other in his coat pocket to his 

 landlord. Baron Mountflorence (subsequently first P'arl 

 of Enniskillen) at Florence Court, where it was planted 

 and still grows. The parent tree at Florence Court is 

 growing in an uncongenial position and in rather damp 

 soil, and for many years suffered considerable damage 

 from cuttings for propagation — cuttings having been 

 sent to all parts of America. Its present dimensions 

 are. height 25 feet, and at 10 feet from the ground the 

 circumference is 66 feet. It consists of two main stems 

 rising close together from the ground, measuring 

 respectively 43in. and ,l6in. in circumference, and has 

 never looked so well during the past decade or more as 

 it does at present. Needless to say, at Florence Court 

 there are several fine specimens grown from this 

 famous parent ; one is 2>2> ^^^^ '" lieight, and at 10 feet 

 from the ground measures 36 feet in circumference. — 

 Journal of Horticulture. 



e^* 8^* ^^ 



It is the wisilom and goodness of gardening which 

 makes it such a deep and enduring happiness. It is the 

 thankfulness, reverence, and love which make our gar- 

 dens dear to us from childhood to old <i^e.—Dean Hole. 



