NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



405 



Duchess pears can be kept profitably until 

 late in December ; Fameuse, or Snow ap- 

 ples, until March or April. The time limit 

 has to be determined for each kind of fruit. 

 9. In addition to proper conditions in the 

 storage room, the most important points in 

 the storage of fruit are the selection of sound 

 fruit, grading into uniform sizes, one variety 

 only in a case ; and careful />acy^/w^. There- 

 fore, the results of these experiments can be 

 made use of by the family, in preserving- 

 fresh fruit for their own use ; by the fruit- 

 grower, in securing better prices for good 

 fruit later in the season, in the local mar- 

 kets ; and by the shipper, in enabling him 

 to take advantage of the higher prices of- 

 fered in foreign markets. 



THE VARYING QUALITY OF NIAGARA 

 GRAPES AND OTHER FRUITS. 



AMONG other fruits there is very little 

 appreciable difference in natural 

 quality. To some persons an apple is 

 simply an apple, a peach is only a peach, — 

 the variety makes but little difference if the 

 general quality be above a fair average. 

 With grapes it is very different. Every one 

 is familiar with the old Concord and the 

 newer Niagara ; with the Catawba and 

 Delaware ; the imported white grapes, the 

 California Tokays, the wild Fox, and the 

 fine " hothouse " varieties are all recognized 

 by sight and taste, if not all by name. 

 Each, too, has its coterie of admirers, and 

 justly so. 



There is one fact relating to the Niagara 

 that it is desired to bring out particularly, 

 which is that there are two distinct qualities 

 according to the stage of ripening. Those 

 bunches of fruit that have remained long on 

 the vines and become well developed have a 

 peculiar distinguishing flavor and a strong, 

 agreeable odor ; fruit picked early, though 



ripe, are not well developed, and the quality 

 is really often poor, while the true Niagara 

 flavor is lost. As a rule, the well ripened 

 grapes have a yellowish cast. The new 

 Campbell's Early is said to be the better for 

 remaining long on the vines. 



Some apples are noticeably different in 

 quality. The R. I. Greening is very often 

 poor and almost astringent ; Baldwin is the 

 same, but perhaps less frequently. Fine 

 specimens of either are of high quality. To 

 a certain extent, the trouble with the apples 

 is similiar to that of the Niagara grape — 

 they are not well developed. But the non- 

 developement may not be the result of their 

 being harvested too soon ; there are other 

 factors in the case. Overbearing or a 

 weakening from the attacks of insects will 

 cause an earlier ripening or an imperfect 

 development. When will every fruit-grow- 

 er learn that the best fruit is most profit- 

 able, and that it is only to be had by 

 thorough care and cultivation. ? 



The Seckel pear is another instance, 

 though there may be additional trouble of 

 another nature — namely, that the true quali- 

 ties have been lost somewhere in course of 

 propagation. But the chief complaint is 

 against the miserably grown fruit that gets 

 into the market — ill-shapen, undeveloped 

 stuff that by no means satisfies the lover of 

 this delicious variety. 



The Keiffer Pear is exceedingly variable, 

 and here again depends upon the care and 

 judgment exercised in picking and ripening. 

 This pear may be a delicious, juicy, soft- 

 grained fruit, or it may be coarse, dry and 

 almost worthless. 



It would be disastrous to allow a Clapp's 

 Favorite Pear to ripen on the tree, as it will 

 rot inside unawares. Picked early and 

 ripened in the dark, it ripens uniformly and 

 is delicious. — Meehans" Monthly. 



