

AGEING FRUIT. 



Many who are acquain- 

 ted with American fruit 

 have, no doubt, been 

 struck with the fine appear- 

 ance and* rich flavour of 

 the Newtown pippins and other apples and 

 pears which now reach this country annually 

 from Canada and North America. Much 

 of their fine quality is owing to the manner 

 in which the fruit is gathered and pre- 

 served. The following is said to be the 

 process of preservation which it under- 

 goes : As the fruit-gathering season ap- 

 proaches, tin canisters of a proper size are 

 prepared and carefully soldered ; the usual 

 size being seven inches in height by five 

 in diameter. " Select the finest fruit- 

 peaches, strawberries, pears, apples what 



Welcome, pale Primrose ! starting up between 

 Dead matted leaves of ash and oak that strew 

 The eveny lawn, the wood, and spinney through, 



'Mid creeping moss and ivy's darker green ; 



How much thy presence beautifies the ground ! 

 How sweet thy modest, unaffected pride 

 Glows on the sunny bank and wood s warm side !" 

 CLARE. 



you please," says a writer in the American 

 Horticulturist. "It should be just ripe, 

 but not beyond that stage, and perfectly 

 free from bruises. Fill the canisters, place 

 the tin lids in their places, and solder them 

 down, leaving only a small hole the size of 

 a pin in the centre of the lid for the escape 

 of air. The next point is to drive all air 

 out of the canister. In order to do this, 

 take a broad, flat-bottomed boiler pan, 

 place the canisters in it, and fill the boiler 

 with water to within about three-fourths of 

 an inch of the tops of the canisters ; place 

 the boiler over a gentle fire until the water 

 boils. This will drive all the air from each 

 canister; but to make sure that it is all 

 expelled, when the temperature of the 

 water in the boiler is about 200 Fahr., 

 let a drop of water fall on the hole : when 



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