364 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



Black Currants can be treated in the same way 

 as Red Currants, but it is not usual to bottle 

 the fruit, as it can be better preserved by other 

 methods. Two of the best varieties are Black 

 Naples and Baldwin's Black, as they possess size 

 of berry, abundant pulp, and good flavour, but 

 Lee's Prolific is one of the richest and sweetest 

 Black Currants when at its best. Both jam 

 and jelly can be prepared in the same way as 

 recommended for Red Currants; but there is a 

 larger demand for this, and Black Currant jelly, 

 especially if manufactured with care, is always 

 sure of a ready sale at remunerative prices. 

 Perhaps there is no fruit of which the preserv- 

 ing could be more safely increased commercially 

 than that under notice. 



Gooseberries. — The two principal methods in 

 which Gooseberries can be profitably preserved 

 are in bottles and as jelly; there is not a good 

 sale for the jam, except at such low rates that 

 it hardly pays for the cost of manufacture unless 

 some foreign substances are introduced to in- 

 crease the bulk, which is strongly condemned. 



Green Gooseberries are chiefly employed for 

 bottling, and large well-shaped varieties are pre- 

 ferred, such as Whitesmith, Keepsake, Whin- 

 ham's Industry, Lancashire Lad, and Crown 

 Bob. Where rich flavour is required for jam 

 or jelly and ripe fruit is used, the last two 

 varieties are valuable, but some of the old 

 small-fruited varieties, such as Red and Yellow 

 Champagne, Early Sulphur, Green Walnut, Pit- 

 maston Green-gage, and others of similar char- 

 acter are used. 



In bottling, the fruit must be sound and clean; 

 the eyes and stalks are removed and the bottles 

 filled as previously described. The boiling must 

 be slowly performed, and from one and a half 

 to two hours may be needed. If overdone, the 

 berries have a blanched appearance which is not 

 attractive, and they are so soft when turned 

 out for use that they will scarcely bear a second 

 cooking. 



For jam, employ only well-flavoured fruits, 

 and use equal weights of sugar, boiling for 

 three-quarters of an hour. Jelly is produced 

 by adding water equal to about half the bulk 

 of fruit; boil for an hour, then strain, and to 

 every gallon of juice add 8 lbs. of sugar, and 

 boil rapidly for three-quarters of an hour. With 

 care in the selection of the fruit and in the 

 straining, a well -coloured and excellent jelly 

 can be thus made, which can be profitably sold 

 at a lower price than the majority of jellies. It 

 provides a ready means of disposing of the sur- 

 plus in very abundant crops. 



Miscellaneous Fruits and Methods. — Besides 

 those enumerated, other hardy fruits are occa- 

 sionally employed for preserving or other uses 

 in quantities. Sloes, for instance, are in con- 

 siderable demand for steeping in spirits, such 

 as gin, to prepare a kind of liqueur. In some 

 country districts in abundant seasons large quan- 

 tities of these are gathered by the villagers for 

 sale to distillers. Black Currants are also used 

 in the same way both for whisky and gin, 

 while the use of Morello Cherries for brandy 

 is a large industry in some places. Most of 

 these are, however, outside the scope of this 

 chapter, in which the writer has been chiefly 

 concerned in pointing out methods of utilizing 

 surplus and waste produce in fruit plantations 

 and gardens generally. [r. L. c] 



CHAPTER XXV. 



PACKING FRUITS FOR ROAD OR RAIL. 



Value of Proper Packing — Packing -houses, -rooms, 

 or -sheds — The Packers — Packages — Boxes — 

 Baskets — Cases or Crates — Barrels — Bags — 

 Packing Materials — Packing Choice Fruits — 

 Grapes, Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots — 

 Pine - apples — Small Fruits — Stone-fruits — 

 Apples — Pears — Miscellaneous. 



The utmost skill a grower may expend upon 

 the production of first-class fruits will be 

 seriously discounted if the best systems of pre- 

 paring the produce for conveyance by rail or 

 road are not adopted. Necessarily, the im- 

 portance of this matter is proportionately 

 greater where fruits are extensively grown for 

 market than in private gardens where the 

 greater portion is required for home consump- 

 tion. Still, even in the latter case the subject 

 of fruit-packing cannot be slighted without caus- 

 ing considerable dissatisfaction, and loss of repu- 

 tation to the gardener. In some instances it 

 may be that consignments of fruits by rail are 

 rarely required, but in many establishments 

 the packing of fruit and vegetables for long- 

 distance journeys is a regular part of the work 

 during a portion of the year. In fact, there 

 are few horticulturists at the present time, who 

 are concerned with fruit in any degree, that are 

 not expected at some time to possess a know- 

 ledge of the matter under consideration in this 

 chapter. 



From the commercial stand-point it is ab- 

 solutely indispensable ; the difference in money- 

 value at the market of the same grades of fruit, 



