WRAPPED FRUIT. 



and silvery white beneath. In May it 

 is covered with small, pale yellow blos- 

 soms, which appear in great profusion. 

 The berries are oval, resembling an 

 olive in shape, of about the size shown 

 in the illustration, of a bright scarlet 

 color flecked with golden yellow, and 

 ripen in July. When fully ripe these 

 berries possess a rather pleasant, aro- 

 matic flavor but before maturity they 

 are acid and astringent. It is said that 

 in Japan the fruit is eaten raw, and also 

 pickled and preserved. In this coun- 

 try it has been found, when cooked like 

 cranberries, to make very good sauce 

 and pies and also to be valuable for 

 jelly-making. 



As to the hardiness of Elaeagnus long- 

 ipes we are not prepared to say just how 

 far north it may be safely exposed with- 

 out winter protection, but here, in New 

 Jersey, the plants stand out, entirely 

 uninjured all winter. We have seen 

 no indications of any tendency to 

 fungous disease, and it is perfectly free 

 from insect attacks. 



It would thus seem that this shrub is 

 desirable for ornamental purposes and 

 also, to some extent, valuable for its 



fruit for culinary use. Its symmetrical 

 habit and pretty, pale, silvery foliage 

 render it useful for grouping with shrubs 

 of darker color, and when loaded down 

 with ripe fruit in summer it is an object 

 of much beauty. % 



We find in this, as with many other 

 plants from Japan, some confusion of 

 names. Thus there are E. Longipes, 

 E. edulis, E. pungens, E. Simoni, E. um- 

 bellaius, and probably others that we 

 know not of. Longipes, edulus, and 

 pungens appear to be all the same plant, 

 and longipes is probably the best name. 

 Umbellatus is a different species from 

 longipes and is known also as Simoni. 

 It is a very strong, vigorous grower, 

 often reaching a height of ten feet or 

 more before bearing any fruit, and its 

 season of ripening is in October. Long- 

 ipes is by far the better species and 

 comes into bearing at about two years 

 old and when only a few feet high. 

 There are also varieties with variegated 

 foliage of green and white, all of which 

 are very beautiful. E. longipes com- 

 mands much attention when well-grown 

 and is likely to become a popular shrub. 



WRAPPED FRUIT. 



At the Experimental Farms, Ottawa, 

 some very interesting experiments have 

 been carried out in connection with 

 storing apples in winter. Some of the 

 points involved were (i) wrapped versus 

 unwrapped fruit ; (2) cellar versus ground- 

 floor storage ; (3) close versus ventilated 

 packages. These experiments began in 

 the autumn and were carried through 

 the winter. Twenty-four varieties of 

 apples were included in the trials. The 

 following results are the averages : 



Wrapped v. Unwrapped Apples. 



Per Comparative 

 cent. weight, 



sound. Scale of 100. 



Wrapped and stored in cellar 42 ... 37 



" storeroom 36 .33 



Unwrapped in cellar 32 8 ... 29 



' ' storeroom 33 ... 23 



Specimens wrapped in paper kept best, 

 there were fewer rotten apples, and they lost 

 least by evaporation. The ground-floor store- 

 room did not preserve them as well as the cel- 

 lar, t 

 Close v. Ventilated Packages. 



This was tested by packing equal quanti- 

 ties of six varieties of apples in boxes of the 

 same make, with and without ventilation. 

 Half of the cases were placed in the cellar, 

 the other half in the upper storeroom. Re- 

 sults : 



Per cent, of 

 Package. Stored. fruit sound. 



Not ventilated . . Cellar 42 



" .. Storeroom 64*6 



Ventilated Cellar 49 



" Storeroom 45.8 



The tight package preserved the fruit best 

 in storeroom, but not in cellar ; per contra. 

 the ventilated did better in cellar than in 

 storeroom. 



27 



