APRICOT. 



ARBOR VITJ3. 



APRICOT (Armeniaca vulgaris). The name 

 of the apricot has been thought to be derived 

 from apricus, open and exposed to the sun, or 

 from praecox, early ripe ; but there can be no 

 doubt that the word is a corruption of the Ara- 

 bic, name of the fruit. In England, it is one 

 of the earliest wall-fruits, and held in the 

 highest estimation. The fruit, when gathered 

 young to thin the crop, makes an excellent 

 tart ; and when ripe, it is second to no fruit 

 for preserves or jam : it gives an excellent 

 flavour to ice, and makes a delicious liqueur : 

 of all the fruits used in pastry, none is more 

 beautiful or agreeable than the ripe apricot. 

 To prolong the enjoyment of this fruit in its 

 natural state, we should be careful to plant the 

 earliest variety in the warmest situation, a 

 the frost often injures the blossoms unless it is 

 protected by a glass shutter. The apricot, as 

 well as the plum, may be kept for our dessert 

 two or three weeks later, by gathering it when 

 half ripe, and placing it in an ice-house, a 

 dairy, or any cool place, where it slowly 

 ripens. 



Apricots, if not too ripe, agreeably astringe 

 and strengthen the stomach ; but like all other 

 perfumed watery fruit, it loses its aromatic 

 and tempting flavour, becomes clammy, and 

 is less easy of digestion, when over-ripe : they 

 should therefore be gathered at least twenty- 

 four hours before they acquire the last degree 

 of maturity. 



Of this excellent fruit, thirty-nine varieties 

 have been described in the Horticultural So- 

 ciety's catalogue. For a small garden, Mr. 

 Lindley recommends the following selection. 



Breda Peach apricot. 



Brussels. Red masculine. 



Hemskirke. Roman. 



Large early. Royal. 



Moorpark Turkey. 



The Moorpark and Turkey have been recom- 

 mended where variety is not wanted, the for- 

 mer being fine, and a good bearer ; the latter 

 not a good bearer, but very fine. The apricot 

 requires a rich soil, rather lighter than the 

 apple and pear. 



Budding is generally performed from the 

 middle of June to the end of July, on mussel 

 plum stocks two or three years old. The Breda, 

 peach apricot, royal, and a few. others are 

 those generally budded upon the mussel, " and 

 although,'' says Mr. Lindley," the Moorpark is, 

 for the most part, budded upon the common 

 plum, on which it takes freely, yet I am per- 

 suaded that if it were budded on the mussel, 

 the trees would be better, last longer in a state 

 of vigour, and produce their fruit superior 

 both in size and quality." 



In planting out trees for training, young 

 plants, or those called maiden plants, should 

 be made choice of, being far preferable to those 

 which have been headed down, and stood two 

 years in the quarters of the nursery ; observ- 

 ing, in all ca^cs, without exception, that the bud 

 should stand outwards, and the wounded part 

 wBere the stock has been headed down, in- 

 wards, or next the wall. The apricot in gene- 

 ral bears chiefly upon the young shoots of the 

 preceding year, and also upon small spurs 

 110 



rising on the two or three year old fruit 

 branches. The pruning of wall-apricots com- 

 prehends both a summer and a winter course 

 of regulation. In May, the summer pruning 

 commences by the disbudding and removal of 

 the superfluous shoots, and shortening the 

 smaller shoots to half an inch, which will oc- 

 casion many of them to form natural spurs 

 for blossoms at the base. This should be 

 carefully done with a sharp thin-bladed knife. 

 Care must also be taken to select and train as 

 many of the best placed young shoots as may 

 be wanted to form the figure of the tree, pro- 

 ceeding thus from year to year, till it is com- 

 pletely furnished, both in its sides and middle, 

 for there ought not then to be a blank space in 

 any part within its extent. 



For the winter pruning of apricots, every 

 shoot should be shortened according to its 

 strength, none being permitted to exceed 18 

 inches, while a few will require to be even less 

 than 6. By pruning thus short, and training 

 the branches thus, the trees will be kept in 

 vigour, the fruit will always attain its full size 

 under favourable circumstances, and its quality 

 will be good. 



When the fruit is found to be too numerous 

 and growing in clusters, thinning must be re- 

 sorted ,to in May and June, leaving the most 

 promising fruit singly, at three or four inches 

 distance ; or from about two to six on the re- 

 spective shoots, according to their strength. The 

 retained fruit should in all instances be situated 

 at the sides of their respective shoots, and no 

 fore-right fruit be suffered to remain ; for these 

 being exposed to the full power of the sun, 

 will perish before they can arrive at maturity. 

 The apricot is very liable to be attacked by 

 wasps and large flies, which should be kept 

 ofif by a net. The other insects and diseases 

 of this tree are the same as in the peach tree; 

 but it is not nearly so obnoxious to their at- 

 tacks, probably owing to the comparatively 

 hard nature of its bark and wood, and coria- 

 ceous leaves. [The apricot is the earliest and 

 tenderest of American fruits, the blossoms 

 coming so early as to be commonly nipped 

 by frost. The position of the trees should be 

 such as tends to retard flowering.] (Phillip's 

 Pom. Brit.,- Lindley's Guide to the Orchard and 

 Kitchen Garden.) 



ARBOR VIT^E (Thuja). The generic 

 name of this tree is a corruption from eJ* of 

 Theophrastus, or thya of Pliny, which were 

 derived from the verb thyfi, I perfume ; as the 

 thya of the ancients gave out an aromatic 

 smoke when it was burnt. It is called arbor 

 vitae, or tree of life, because it keeps in full 

 leaf winter and summer ; and not in allusion 

 to the tree of life mentioned in the book of 

 Genesis. The first mention we have of it in 

 England is by Gerard, in his History of Plants, 

 which was published in 1597. He tells us that 

 it was then growing plentifully in his garden 

 at Holborn, where it flowered about May, but 

 it had not then ripened seed. 



"The Thuja from China's fruitful lands," 



being of a brighter green and thicker verdure, 

 tias nearly superseded the arbor vitae of Ca- 

 nada in our plantations. It is well adapted to 



