378 Notes and Gleanings. 



proved excellent. The specimen from which this illustration was made appears 

 to be much finer than that outlined in Leroy's '• Dictionnaire de Pomologie." 

 The tree is described as vigorous, growing well on the quince, and forming fine 

 pyramids, and very productive. The fruit is of a pale-yellow color, partly cov- 

 ered with a bronze tint, sprinkled with grayish white, and sometimes colored 

 with delicate rose ; juice abundant, acidulous, sugary, with a buttery taste of 

 the most delicate character. Ripe the last of September and beginning of Oc- 

 tober. This variety was raised by M. Boisbunel, the nursery-man at Rouen, 

 from seed sown in 1845, and first fruited in 1856. The synonyme quoted in the 

 "Fruits and Fruit-Trees of America" is improperly divided: it should be 

 " Beurre du Cercle Pratique de Rouen." This name was given by the origina- 

 tor in acknowledgment of the kindness with which his pomological essays had 

 been received by the "Cercle Pratique d'Horticulture et de Botanique de la Seine 

 Inferieure," in whose bulletin it was described in 1857 ; but, being inconveniently 

 long, the name has been abridged to Beurre du Cercle. 



Preserving Apples, Pears, &c. — Next in importance to growing our 

 hardy fruits may be ranked the preservation of them for winter use, whether 

 by amateurs or professional gardeners. In the month of February last, a few 

 prizes offered at one of the Tuesday meetings at Soutli Kensington brought 

 together a considerable quantity of apples and pears from various e.xhibiters ; 

 and this fruit was in so excellent a state of preservation, that the mode of keep- 

 ing in the different cases was inquired into. The following is 2i precis, published 

 by the Royal Horticultural Society, of the communications received : — 



1. As the flavor of fruit is so easily affected by heterogeneous odors, it is 

 highly desirable that the apple and pear rooms should be distinct. 



2. The walls and the floor should be annually washed with a solution of 

 quicklime, to which common salt is sometimes added. [Salt is objection- 

 able.] 



3. The room should be perfectly dry, kept at as uniform a temperature as 

 practicable, and be well ventilated ; but there should not be a thorough draft. 



4. The utmost care should be taken in gathering the fruit, which should be 

 handled as little as possible. 



5. For present use, the fruit should be well ripened ; but if for long keeping, 

 it is better, especially with pears, that it should not have arrived at complete 

 maturity. This point, however, requires considerable judgment. 



6. No imperfect fruit should be stored with that which is sound, and every 

 more or less decayed specimen should be immediately removed. 



7. If placed on shelves, the fruit should not lie more than two deep ; and no 

 straw should be used. 



8. Where especially clear and beautiful specimens are wanted, they may be 

 packed carefully in d>y bran, or jn layers oi pe7'fectly dry cotton-wool, either in 

 closed boxes or in large garden-pots. Scentless saw-dust will answer the same 

 purpose ; but pine saw-dust is apt to communicate an unpleasant taste. 



9. With care, early apples may be kept till Christmas ; while many kinds may 

 be preserved in perfection to a second year. — Florist and Pomologist. 



