MISCELLANEOUS HINTS 71 



It is necessary there should be a good window 

 in it, which should open top and bottom; air 

 must be let in and the damp let out. Fruit keeps 

 best in the dark ; and in severe weather the window 

 should be matted up to keep out the frost. A 

 table made of laths is the best to lay the fruit on, 

 and the latter should be picked over pretty often 

 and all bad or specked fruit taken away. 



Choice pears should be wrapped each one in 

 paper, and arranged one layer deep in shallow 

 boxes. 



Moss on Gooseberry Bushes 



Scrape the moss off, wet the bushes and dust 

 them well wdth dry powdered lime, also dig a dress- 

 ing of lime on the ground round them. Many 

 gardeners advise painting the bushes all over with 

 a mixture of quicklime, soot and clay, made to the 

 consistency of paint, with the addition of a little 

 melted rough fat from the kitchen, which will make 

 the paste stick to the branches. 



GRAFTING WAX 



Melt half an ounce of wax and the same quantity 

 of fat in a pipkin over a fire, then break up half an 

 ounce of red sealing-wax in pieces and put into it, 

 and keep stirring the whole until all are thoroughly 

 melted and incorporated together. Finally, stir in a 

 very small quantity of honey and pour the mixture 

 into moulds, and stir gently till it begins to set. 



