FRUIT ADAPTED FOR ORCHARDHOUSE WORK 1 53 



flavor than others. Botli Beurre Hardy and Conference have a richness of 

 flavor that cannot fail to please the lover of Pears. Where a few extra large 

 specimens are desired, Pitmaston Duchess and Souv. de Congress will produce 

 single fruit weighing from one to one and one-half pounds, if the tree is thinned 

 with that object in view. Our orchardhouses are ideal for producing perfect 

 specimens, and these pyramid trees loaded with fruit are a pleasing sight to 

 look upon. Therefore, I unhesitatingly place the Pear next to the Peach and 

 Nectarine for orchardhouse work. With good treatment they will give an 

 average crop every year. 



Plums are third in order. While they do not present such an imposing 

 sight as the Pear, yet they will enrich the collection and help to make the fruit- 

 house more attractive. Plums are a valuable addition as a dessert fruit, both 

 as to richness of flavor and handsome appearance. Table Plums chiefly should 

 be grown in the orchardhouse. Allow them to get perfectly ripe before gather- 

 mg, and you have a very rich fruit worthy of gracing any table. Plums, how- 

 ever, have their peculiarities, which are difficult to explain. In the first place, 

 they must be finished to perfection, in order to be rightly appreciated, and 

 this means that the tree should not receive any check during the season of ma- 

 turity. If Plum trees, just as the fruit begins to ripen, are placed outside, 

 with a wire screen as a protection from the birds, they will finish up much more 

 satisfactorily than in the house. It is probable that the natural dews at night 

 are beneficial to the fruit at that stage of ripening. This may seem a curious 

 argument and it may be said that if such is the case, the trees might be left 

 outside altogether. To this I reply that the fruit will be much finer If left inside 

 until it starts to ripen. I strongly recommend this mode of treatment for a 

 good Plum crop, for if they are put outside a sheltered location is necessary. 

 It has happened to me more than once that one-half of a crop would ripen on 

 a tree of the earliest kind, while the rest would absolutely refuse to soften. But 

 if I set them outside at this stage, the difficulty would seem to be o\ercome. 



The Mallard Plu 



