FEUIT. 157 



vent canker in the tree, and to promote the formation of fruit 

 in place of wood buds. To grow first-rate fruit of Cox's 

 Orange and Kibston Pippin, as well as many other iine 

 varieties, a wall is necessary outside of the most favourable 

 localities. The trees should be trained on the cordon system, 

 by leading two or more shoots up the wall. By pinching in 

 the side-shoots to form spurs, keeping the trees clean, and 

 feeding the roots while the crop is swelling, excellent apples 

 should be obtained. The points of merit are : (1.) Large 

 size; (2.) handsome form; and (3.) skin, smooth and clear in 

 colour. Dessert apples should be sweet, juicy, and melting, 

 with a rich pleasing aroma. Culinary apples should be acid, 

 ciisp, and juicy, and, when cooked, the flesh should be clear in 

 colour and melting, with a brisk pleasing acidity. 



THE APKICOT. 

 The Apricot is considered to be indigenous to Armenia, but 

 has been found growing wild in many parts of Asia and 

 Africa with a semi-tropical climate, where in most instances, 

 however, it is supposed to be an escape from cultivation. It 

 is stated to have been introduced from Italy to Britain in 

 1524 by Woolf, gardener to Henry VIII. ; and in this country 

 it requires a wall and a well-sheltered situation to bring the 

 fruit to perfection. A well-built brick wall is the most suit- 

 able for growing the Apricot ; and in favourable situations it 

 may face any point of south between south-east and south- 

 west, but in cold districts it must face due south. Some of 

 the best exhibition varieties are Hemskirke, Large Early, Moor- 

 park, and Shipley's. The border on which they are grown 

 should be well drained, as the Apricot is impatient of stagnant 

 moisture. Like most stone fruits, it delights in a calcareous 

 soil, and if lime is absent from the fibry loam with which the 

 border is formed, some lime rubbish should be added, and 

 also a little sharp sand and wood-ashes if the soil is of an 

 adhesive nature. Young trained trees, healthy and well 

 ripened, should be planted as soon as the leaves have fallen, 

 watering them if the soil is dry, and mulching to prevent eva- 

 poration and to protect the roots in winter. By careful pinch- 



