APR 



APR 



Diseases. See CANKER, RUSSET, and 

 Moss. 



Insects. So impressed was Mr. Kniglit 

 with the opinion, that of all our fruits none 

 suffers more from insects than the Apple, 

 that he declared his belief that these are 

 a more frequent cause of the crops failing 

 than frost. The figure-of-eight moth 

 (Episema cceruleocephala), Linnoeus de- 

 nominates the pest of Pomona, and the 

 destroyer of the hlossoms of the apple, 

 pear, and cherry. He also mentions ano- 

 ther (T nea corticella), as inhabiting ap- 

 ple-hearing trees under the bark. And 

 Reaumur has given us ths history of a 

 species common in this country, and pro- 

 ducing the same effect, often to the de- 

 struction of the crop, the caterpillar of 

 which feeds in the centre of our apples, 

 thus occasioning them to fall. Even the 

 young grafts are frequently destroyed 

 sometimes many hundreds in one night 

 in the nurseries about London, by the 

 Curculio vastator of Marsham (Otiorhyn- 

 chns picipes], one of the short- snouted 

 weevils ; and the foundation of canker, in 

 full-grown trees, is often laid by the larva? 

 of Temasa Wceberana. The sap, too, is 

 often injuriously drawn off by a minute 

 coccus, of which the female has the exact 

 shape of a muscle-shell (Coccus arborum 

 linearis), and which Reaumur has ac- 

 curately described and figured. But the 

 greatest enemy of this tree, and which 

 has been known in this country since the 

 year 1787, is the apple-aphis v called by 

 some 'the coccus, and by others the 

 American Blight. See AMERICAN BLIOHT, 

 BLIGHT YPONOMENTA, ANTHONYMUS, Coc- 

 cus, PSYLLA, BOSTRICHUS, ScoLYTUS, and 



ACARUS. 



APRICOT. Armeni'aca vulga'ris. 



Varieties : 1. Early Masculine. End of 

 July. The best of the very early 

 Apricots. Fruit rather small, round, 

 and of a yellowish colour, tinted with 

 red on one side. 



.Large Early, or Precoce. Ripens next 

 in order. An oblong fruit, of a palish- 

 orange colour, with a very agreeable 

 juice. 



3. Blenheim, or Shipley's. One of the 

 most useful Apricots in the kingdom ; 

 for, although inferior in flavour to the 

 Moorpark, it is a much greater bearer, 

 and a sure ripener. An oval fruit, 

 middle-sized, and of a palish-lernon 

 colour. This kind is allied to the 

 Moorpark ; possibly a seedling from it. 



4. Hemsltirke. Another of the Moorpark 

 section; somewhat earlier. This, also, 

 ripens safer than the Moorpark, and 

 such is a weighty consideration with 

 northern horticulturists. A roundish 

 fruit, somewhat flattened at the crown ; 

 colour, orange and red. 



5. Breda. A well-known preserving fruit, 

 and most eligible for growing, as an 

 ordinary standard, in our southern 

 counties, or on any trellis device. 

 Called " Brussels " by some. A small 

 fruit, generally of a cramped or angled 

 appearance ; of an orange colour, and 

 rich flavoured. 



6. Royal. A good fruit, of very rich 

 flavour, ripening just a little before the 

 Moorpark. Of a large size, oval, and 

 of an orange complexion. 



7. Moorpark. The first Apricot in the 

 kingdom, taken altogether. A full- 

 sized, roundish fruit, ripening about 

 middle season ; flavour first rate. No 

 garden of any pretensions is complete 

 without a Moorpark or two. 



These are all that are truly essential 

 either to the amateur or the cottager. 

 For the amateur who, in a small garden, 

 has room for three only, and those dis- 

 tinct kinds, we recommend Nos. 3, 5, and 

 7. If four, then take Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7. If 

 five, then Nos. 1, 3, 5, 6, 7. For cottagers, 

 we say, Nos. 3 and 7. Above all, wo 

 would recommend the "Shipley's" to 

 the cottager, as being a hardier and a 

 larger tree, and a much surer bearer. 

 Besides the above, there are the Black, 

 the Large Early, Musch-Musch, very 

 sweet, of the Breda section ; the Orange r 

 fitter for preserving than dessert, a good 

 bearer ; the Roman, another good bearer ; 

 the Turkey, a useful late variety; the- 

 Haisha, a Syrian kind, delicious, and 

 possessing a sweet kernel. 



Choice of Trees. Those who have to 

 select, whether from stock of their own, 

 or from the nursery, should first see that 

 the junction between the stock and the 

 scion is complete, and thoroughly healed. 

 If any gum or other exudation appear on 

 any stem, by all means reject the tree as 

 to present use. 



Two or three years' trained trees are 

 the most eligible, and such should pos- 

 sess at least two "bi'anches on either 

 side, and a -central one if possible. 

 Care should be taken to select those in 

 which the side-tranches are of about 

 equal thickness. 



