FRUITS. CHAP. 



think it necessary to speak of any others. Something, 

 however, may be said about apples for cooking. There 

 are our own codlings, which come earliest : Conklins pie- 

 apple I have mentioned, the Russettings are very fine for 

 this purpose, and they keep a long while : the Spitzen- 

 lerg Pippin is a fine large apple for this purpose, keeps 

 through the greater part of the winter, and bears 

 surprizingly. In Herefordshire the apples most highly 

 esteemed for this purpose are the Quirting, or Queening, 

 and the Boovey red-streak, they are both very fine apples, 

 but particularly the former. There are some excellent 

 sorts in Devonshire j but, as to sorts, people will gene- 

 rally be directed by their taste, or by the fashion of the 

 neighbourhood. With regard to cider apples, it would 

 be useless to speak of sorts, and rather beside my sub- 

 ject, seeing that I am treating of things not to make 

 liquor of, but to be used for the table. To preserve 

 apples throughout the winter is a thing of great con- 

 sequence. First, the sort is to be attended to j for an 

 apple that is not of a keeping nature will not keep. If 

 the quantity be small," I have found that wrapping each 

 apple in a piece of paper and packing in a chest is the 

 best way. In all cases, they should be carefully hand- 

 gathered, laid in the basket which you use in the gather- 

 ing, and not tossed into it - } for, the smallest bruise leads 

 with certainty to rottenness. They should be quite ripe 

 before they be gathered ; and yet, when quite ripe, they 

 fall with the least shake of the limb. Here is one of the 

 great advantages of espaliers, the limbs of which cannot 

 be shaken with the wind ; while, as every one knows, 

 much about half the crop is shaken down by the wind 

 from the greater part of standard-trees long before the 



