FRUITS 5 



the apples, which cover with a flat of the paste, and bake 

 for fifty minutes. Turn out in a dish, and mask over it with 

 a layer of apricot jam. 



Apple Trifle 



Whip up the yolks of four eggs with a little castor sugar, 

 into which pour a pint of hot milk ; then put these into a 

 stewpan, and stir over the fire till it begins to thicken, then 

 turn it out into a pie-dish to cool, having added a teaspoon- 

 ful of brandy. Have ready a pint of apple sauce, sweetened 

 and flavoured with lemon, into which whip the whites of the 

 four eggs, after beating them till quite stiff. When all is 

 well whipped pile on a glass dish, and pour the custard 

 round, scattering ratafias over it, and then co\'ering the 

 whole with cream. 



APRICOTS 



Apricots may be grown from kernel or from 

 budding, but it is really best to buy young trees 

 from some known good florist. Apricot trees are 

 trained against walls, and the time to plant is 

 October, when they should be carefully planted on 

 a southern or western wall in well prepared and 

 readily manured soil. They are very free growers, 

 requiring plenty of room, and should be planted from 

 12 to 15 feet apart, nailing the young branches to 

 the wall. 



If the weather be propitious, in March the 

 branches should be unnailed, and the head of the 

 tree cut off with a sharp knife, and cut back each 

 shoot to about five eyes above the bud ; but if the 

 weather is severe, this pruning must be postponed 

 a little later. In the spring, if the weather be dry, 

 the trees must be watered by hoeing a little circle 

 round the roots and pouring water in. When heat 



