Book 11. GATHERING AND KEEPING ORCHARD FRUITS. 671 



a radius of six or eight feet is left round each tree. If such a space is left, and yearly- 

 dug but not cropped, the trees will thrive well ; and a ridge between each two rows may 

 be sown with corn. The greater number of orchards in Herefordshire and Gloucester- 

 shire are under pasture ; but the most productive are those trees grown in hop grounds. 

 In Kent, in some instances, the interspaces of young orchards are occupied by hops, in 

 others by filberts, and in grown orchards the latter are sometimes seen. Some old 

 orchards are likewise in permanent sward, others under arable or garden crops, and some 

 in saintfoin, while others are in lucern. In all cases where the subsoil is moist, or other- 

 wise unfavourable, the ground of an orchard should neither be dug nor ploughed, in order 

 not to prevent the roots from spreading themselves immediately under the surface. The 

 effect of repeatedly stirring the surface to six or eight inches or more in depth is to cause 

 the roots to descend. In all soils, this descent, by furnishing them more abundantly with 

 moisture, tends to prolong the growth, and prevent the ripening of the wood and the 

 formation of blossom buds ; but, in the case of noxious subsoils, it brings on canker and 

 other diseases. This is the reason why standard fruit-trees in kitchen gardens are gene- 

 rally less productive than in grass orchards : the productive trees in certain hop-grounds 

 in Kent and other counties may seem an exception ; but they are not so, the subsoil in 

 these cases being good and dry. 



Sect. IV. Gathering and Keeping of Orchard Fruit. 



4120. The gathering of orchard fruit, and especially apples, should be performed in 

 such a manner as not to damage the branches, or break off the fruit spurs or buds. Too 

 frequently the fruit is allowed to drop, or it is beat and bruised by shaking the tree and 

 using long poles, &c. Nicol directs that it should never be allowed to drop of itself, nor 

 should it be shaken down, but should be pulled by the hand. This may be thought too 

 troublesome a method ; but every body knows that bruised fruit will not keep, nor will it 

 bring a full price. The expense of gathering, therefore, may be more than defrayed, if 

 carefully done, by saving the fruit from blemish. 



4121. With regard to the keeping of kernel fruits, the old practice, which is recommended 

 by Marshal and Forsyth, commences with sweating, though Nicol and other modern 

 gardeners omit this process. It is evident from the general practice of both commercial 

 and private gardeners, that sweating fruit is not essential to its keeping, though some 

 persons continue to allege that, in consequence of that operation, it keeps better. Marshal, 

 the author of An Introduction to Gardening, observes, that those fruits which con- 

 tinue long for use should be suffered to hang late, even to November, if the frost will 

 permit; for they must be well ripened or they will shrink. Lay them in heaps till they 

 have sweated a few diays, when they must be wiped dry. Let them then lie singly, or at 

 least thinly, for about a fortnight, and be again wiped, and immediately packed in boxes 

 and hampers, lined with double or treble sheets of paper. Place them gently in, and 

 cover them close, so as to keep air out as much as possible. Preserve them from frost 

 through the winter : never use hay for the purpose. Kernel fruits and nuts keep no 

 where better than when mixed and covered with sand in a dry cool cellar, in the manner 

 of potatoes. Buried in pits well protected from moisture, russets have been found to 

 keep perfectly fresh a year from the time of their being gathered. The keeping of cider 

 fruits is not approved of, it being found best to crush them after they have been thinly 

 spread for a few days on a dry boarded floor. Many of the Herefordshire growers carry 

 them direct from the tree to the crushing-mill. 



Sect. V. Mantfacture of Cider and Ferry. 



4122. Cider is commonly manufactured by the grower of the fruit, though it would cer- 

 tainly be better for the public if it were made a distinct branch of business like brewing 

 or distilling. " The true way to have excellent cider," Marshal observes, " is to dispose 

 of the fruit to professional cider makers. The principal part of the prime cider sold in 

 London and elsewhere is manufactured by professional men ; by men who make a 

 business of manufacturing and rectifying cider, even as distillers, rectifiers of spirit, and 

 brewers follow their businesses or professions, and like them too conduct their operations, 

 more or less, on scientific principles." {Rev. of Agr. Rep. vol. ii. p. 294.) It is allowed 

 on all hands that the operation is performed in a most slovenly manner by the farmer, 

 and that it is very difficult to procure this liquor in good quality. The operation of 

 cider-making is as simple as that of wine-making or brewing, and will be perfectly un- 

 derstood from the following directions, chiefly drawn from the treatises of Crocker and 

 Knight ; so that any person possessing an orchard, or a few hedge-row fruit trees, may 

 make a supply for his own use. The first business consists of gathering and preparing 

 the fruit ; the second, of grinding and pressing ; and the last, of fermenting and bottling. 



4123. In gathering cider apples, care should be taken that they are thoroughly ripe 

 before they are taken from the tree ; otherwise the cider will be of a rough, harsh taste, 

 in spite of all the endeavours of the operator. It is observed by Crocker, in his tract 



