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quantities of the fruit are used for making jam and jelly. The Apricot is 

 also extensively used for canning, and when preserved this way is 

 preferred by many to any other fruit. For drying there is no better 

 fruit than the Apricot, and none in greater demand. In the south of 

 Europe and America large quantities of Apricots are now dried and 

 exported to other countries. Drying may be affected by simply splitting 

 the fruit, removing the stones, and exposing it, the cut side uppermost, 

 upon trays to the sun till the moisture has evaporated. The fruit may 

 also be dried with artificial heat in an evaporator. Apricots are excellent 

 when preserved in syrup or brandy, and the Chinese by these means can 

 keep the fruit for several years, so that it will retain its full flavour. In 

 the south of Europe an excellent wine is commonly made from the Apricot, 

 and by distillation it yields a highly flavoured spirit. The Chinese make 

 lozenges from the clarified juice of the Apricot, and when these are 

 dissolved in water they afford a very agreeeble beverage. From the kernels 

 of the wild Apricot, which affords but little pulp, these people also 

 extract an oil that is greatly esteemed. The wood of the Apricot is fine 

 grained, takes a good polish, and is much used by the Chinese and 

 Japanese for cabinet work and other purposes. Sometimes these people 

 use a yellow dye for woollen cloth which is extracted from the young 

 shoots . 



CULTIVATION. 



The Apricot may be grown successfully in most parts of Australasia 

 but it is a fruit better adapted for the warmer than the cooler districts 

 In the warmer parts (not tropical), the fruit develops the richest flavour 

 and is produced with greater certainty. This fruit deserves special atten- 

 tion from growers in any of the moderately warm districts, as there is a large 

 and growing demand for dried and canned Apricots. Produce prepared in 

 these ways is in great demand locally, and if in the future a surplus is 

 obtained, a market can be opened for it elsewhere. Cultivators must, 

 however, bear in mind that, either for canning or drying, varieties with 

 fruit that has a firm, tough fibre are preferable to those whose flesh is 

 more melting and juicy. Apricots are broadly divided into two classes, 

 viz. Freestones, which separate readily from the seeds ; and cling-stones, 

 in which the flesh adheres to the stones. As this fruit is only in season 

 for a comparatively short period of the year, cultivators require but a 

 few sorts, which will give greater satisfaction than a large number. If 

 dessert fruit is required, the grower should select not more than half-a- 

 dozen kinds, highly flavoured and luscious, as also to mature early, at 

 mid-season, and late. The requirements for drying or canning have been 

 already stated, and it does not matter whether the sorts are early, medium 

 or late. 



Apricots will thrive in any ordinary good soil, but the one most 

 congenial is a rich sandy loam. The ground should be deeply stirred, 

 when the soil is heavy more especially, and the root bed ought to be from 

 fifteen to eighteen inches deep at th^ least. In loose land, or when the 

 subsoil is an open sand, gravel, or limestone, the necessity for deep working 



