386 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



Special Fruits for Storing. — It has already 

 been indicated that the choice of fruits that are 

 available for ordinary storing with success in 

 this country is somewhat limited, but we may 

 now refer more particularly to the kinds and 

 varieties which lend themselves to the process. 

 In regard to private gardens and for home use, 

 it is not always a question of whether the stor- 

 ing is a profitable proceeding; the main point 

 is whether it can be performed successfully. 

 Commercial fruit-growers, on the other hand, 

 have to consider both aspects, namely, the 

 practicability and the costs. We have endea- 

 voured to treat the matter so that some judg- 

 ment can be formed on each side. 



Apples. — It is seldom necessary, nor does it 

 usually pay, to attempt keeping the early varieties 

 of Apples either for dessert or cooking. The only 

 circumstances in which it is worth attention are 

 when there is a heavy crop of early varieties, 

 and the markets become filled to such an extent 

 that prices fall to a very low level; or when the 

 home supply is likely to be short owing to defi- 

 cient crops of the later varieties. Of the earliest 

 Apples, such varieties as Beauty of Bath, Mr. 

 Gladstone, Devonshire Quarrenden, and Mar- 

 garet may be kept for a week or a fortnight, 

 and thus bring more profitable returns by 

 choosing a suitable time for the marketing; or 

 for home use they can be kept a month after 

 they are gathered. 



It is with the mid-season Apples that the 

 best results are obtained (apart from the main- 

 crop varieties) as regards the temporary storing 

 in abundant seasons for sale or use. A few 

 only of these may be mentioned as examples, 

 such as Duchess of Oldenburg, Keswick Codlin, 

 Lady Sudeley, Lord Grosvenor, Lord Suffield, 

 Potts' Seedling, Yellow Ingestrie, and Worcester 

 Pearmain. None of these are adapted for long 

 keeping, and though under the most favourable 

 conditions they may be had in usable or even 

 marketable condition for two months from the 

 gathering, yet the sooner they are disposed of 

 the better, unless there are urgent reasons for 

 prolonging their season. 



In the great bulk of Apples, comprising the 

 autumn and winter varieties, they may be con- 

 veniently classed in two groups: (i) those to 

 be used or sold before Christmas, and (ii) those 

 to come in for January onwards. It is im- 

 possible, however, to draw a hard-and-fast line 

 between the two, as many of those which may 

 be more profitably classed in the first from the 

 salesman's point of view, will yet prove use- 

 ful in gardens until long past the assigned 



period. In the first group good examples are 

 afforded by Blenheim Orange Pippin, Golden 

 Winter Pearmain, Margil, Fearn's Pippin, and 

 Ribston Pippin amongst dessert Apples; with 

 Cox's Pomona, Gloria Mundi, Golden Noble, 

 Lane's Prince Albert, Ecklinville, Hawthorn- 

 den, Loddington, and Stirling Castle amongst 

 kitchen varieties. In the other group, com- 

 prising all the latest Apples, the majority must 

 be kept for a period to develop their highest 

 qualities, and if these have been gathered care- 

 fully, and not too early, so that there is no 

 danger of shrivelling, they are worthy of the 

 greatest attention that can be bestowed upon 

 the storing of fruits. A few of these may be 

 selected as specially notable, as follows: — Des- 

 sert: Ashmead's Kernel, Boston Russet, Brad- 

 dick's Nonpareil, Claygate Pearmain, Cornish 

 Gilliflower, Court Pendu Plat, D'Arcy Spice, 

 Duke of Devonshire, Keddlestone Pippin, Man- 

 nington's Pearmain, Nonpareil, Ross Nonpareil, 

 Sturmer Pippin, and Wyken Pippin. Kitchen 

 Apples: Alfriston, Beauty of Kent, Bramley's 

 Seedling, Brownlee's Russet, Dumelow's Seed- 

 lings, Norfolk Beefing, Royal Russet, and 

 Striped Beefing. 



Pears. — A similar classification may be adopted 

 with Pears for storing purposes as with Apples, 

 and it is for that reason it was pointed out 

 earlier in this chapter that three divisions in 

 a large fruit -storage would be advantageous. 

 The earliest Pears are much more difficult to 

 keep than the same class of Apples, they so 

 often commence rotting at the core when the 

 exterior is apparently sound, and this seldom 

 occurs in the case of Apples without there is 

 insect injury. To have any chance of pre- 

 serving them even for a short time the con- 

 ditions must be most carefully regulated to 

 arrest all tendency to change. Of the earliest 

 Pears that are worth trying to keep for a time 

 may be named Aston Town, Beacon, Beurre 

 d'Amanlis, Beurre Giffard, William's Bon Chre- 

 tien, Clapp's Favourite, Colmar d'Ete, Dr. Jules 

 Guyot, Fertility, Jargonelle (very difficult to 

 keep), Madame Treyve, Marguerite Marillat, 

 Souvenir du Congres, and Triomphe de Vienne, 

 but all these should be gathered well in advance 

 of the ripening. 



The Pears for use up to Christmas comprise 

 the greater number of those in cultivation 

 which can be subdivided into October, Novem- 

 ber, and December Pears, as representing the 

 time at which they mature naturally. There 

 are few of these, however, which if harvested 

 in the best state and given the most thorough 



