104 



general rule. Other kinds, such as the Bergamotte Fortunee, 

 ■which in the more moderate heat, but longer seasons of Eu- 

 rope, are good dessert pears, under our fierce suns and shorter 

 seasons fail to acquire such a degree of maturity on the tree 

 that with the utmost care in the fruit room they can be ren- 

 dered melting. Others, like the Josephine de Malines, though 

 difficult to ripen when grown on young trees, mature easily as 

 the trees attain age. 



In considering this subject I have had the pear chiefly in 

 mind, for the obvious reason that it is the most difficult fruit 

 to preserve and ripen, and that whatever conditions will effect 

 this will certainly preserve and ripen apples. 



The cultivation of the grape has during the last ten years 

 increased with a rapidity unparalleled in the case of any other 

 fruit, and is destined to still further extension. It is extreme- 

 ly desirable to prolong the season of this fine fruit through 

 the winter, and this may easily be done by placing them on 

 shelves in a cold, dry closet, with a thickness of wadding over 

 them ; or in not more than two layers in shallow boxes in the 

 fruit room, with a sheet of soft paper between the layers. 

 They must be sound and well ripened, and all unripe, imper- 

 fect, bruised, or decayed berries must be carefully removed. 

 Varieties with a thick skin are preferable for keeping, and 

 among these none have succeeded better than the Diana. 



Although the term " preservation " can hardly be applied 

 to the ripening of summer fruit, it is so closely connected that 

 a few remarks on that subject may not be out of place. It is 

 now well known that almost all summer pears, to be eaten in 

 perfection, must be ripened in the house ; the exceptions to 

 this rule are the Roussetet family, of which the Rostiezer is 

 the only one generally cultivated. The property of ripening 

 in the house is a most valuable one, for the fruit, gathered 

 from one to two weeks before it will be in use, can in the 

 mean time be transported hundreds of miles to distant mark- 

 ets ; and the waste and trouble are far less when the whole 

 crop is gathered at once, than when it must hang to be picked 



