A GARDEN IN VENICE 



ago the fruit that bore the name had a hard 

 yellow flesh that clung to its skin, and uncooked 

 was uneatable. Now it would be difficult to 

 find better peaches of sorts early, mid, and late 

 from July to October. Apricots are plentiful but 

 not so very good. I suppose they ripen too 

 quickly to get the mellow flavour of an English 

 wall-grown apricot ; and nectarines will not grow. 

 Plums of very many sorts are unrivalled. My 

 youth remembers at home the joy of the green- 

 gage ; the lesser pleasure of a well-ripened egg 

 plum when you found one ; and the wholesome 

 tartness of a wine-sour tart. This last we have 

 not. I believe out of Yorkshire it is difficult to 

 find, but with us the sun does the cooking of 

 kinds that are similar: the egg plum is always 

 ripened, the greengage is a delight, and a dark 

 sister, the black gage, dark blue without and 

 golden green within, is in the fulness of flavour 

 as a brunette of the south to a flaxen-coloured 

 German. We have, too, the golden drops, each 

 one mouthful of sun sugared plum excellence; 

 amoli, suchetti, and many others all of merit. 



K 73 



