CHAP. VH.] THE APRICOT. 177 



form, and is thinned out while it is green, in 

 May or the beginning of June, as green apri- 

 cots are generally thought delicious in tarts. 

 The best apricots are, the Moorpark for the 

 table, and the Breda for preserving. This last 

 is frequently grown as a standard. Large 

 branches, or rather arms, of apricot trees, par- 

 ticularly of the Moorpark, are very apt to die 

 off without anv apparent cause ; but, when this 

 is the case, it will be generally found that the 

 plant was injured by frost the preceding winter. 

 Two new kinds of apricot were introduced 

 from Syria in 1847 and 1848. One of these 

 (the Kaisha) ripens when the Moorpark and 

 Turkey apricots, on the same wall, are per- 

 fectly green and hard. The fruit is roundish, 

 about five inches and a half in circumference, 

 and semi-transparent. The skin is slightly 

 downy, of a pale lemon colour, tinged and 

 marbled with red on the side next the sun. 

 The flesh is tender, juicy, of a clear lemon 

 colour, parting freely from the stone, which is 

 small and round. The kernel is sweet, like 

 that of a nut. The fruit is not only delicious, 

 but extremely beautiful from its semi-trans- 

 parency and pale lemon-coloured tint. Ano- 

 ther Syrian apricot is called Shuker Para, 

 or bit of sugar, from its extreme sweetness. 

 A variety of this, originated in the garden of 

 John Barker, Esq., near Aleppo, called the 

 Suedia Green-gage Apricot, has several pecu- 

 liarities. It reproduces itself from seed with 

 as much certainty as any vegetable in the 

 kitchen garden : and as the extraordinary 

 sweetness of the fruit is developed for several 



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