THE APPLE. SI 



Much difference of opinion exists in regard to 

 tjie necessity or advantage of sweating fruit, pre- 

 vious to its being packed. Some disapprove of 

 the practice, remarking that the flavor is thereby 

 considerably injured, and that the fruit does not 

 keep so well ; while others contend, and not with- 

 out apparent reason, that, by getting rid of a por- 

 tion of moisture, the fruit keeps better, and re- 

 tains its natural flavor uninjured. More depends, 

 we apprehend, upon the atmosphere of the room 

 or cellar in which they are kept. 



THE APPLE. 



Of all the fruit produced in our climate, com- 

 prising such an extensive variety, none is brought 

 to so great perfection and with so little trouble, as 

 the apple. The duration of the apple tree is sup- 

 posed, by Knight, to be two hundred years. " The 

 soil best adapted for the apple," says Rogers, " is 

 that of a soft loam, containing some sand ; a great 

 depth is not requisite, eighteen to twenty inches 

 being quite enough, provided it be on a dry sub- 

 soil. If the bottom soil is wet, the trees should 

 be set shallow, and the ground drained. Apple 

 trees do not thrive if the roots enter into a cold 

 substratum." 



Autumnal planting we prefer in light soil, and 

 spring planting on those of a strong and wet na- 

 ture. In forming a collection of fruits, it has 

 been justly observed, that it is better to be con- 

 tented with a few good kinds, which produce well 

 in most seasons, than to plant those for the sake 

 of variety, of which perhaps a crop may be ob- 

 tained once in three or four years. The Secre- 



