VI.] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



181 



than the tree now is, whether in shoot, leaf, or fruit. The cuttings, 

 which came from Mr. Platt at North Hempstead, were put 

 upon the several little limbs of an old dwarf standard-tree ; but the 

 whole now appears as if it had been all from a young original stock . 

 There are numerous sorts of excellent American apples ; but I do 

 not think it necessary to speak of any others. Something, how- 

 ever, may be said about apples for cooking. There are our own 

 codlins, which come earliest, Conklins Pie Apple I have men- 

 tioned, the Russettings are very fine for this purpose, and they 

 keep a long while : the Spitzenhery Pippin is a fine large apple 

 for this purpose, keeps through the greater part of the winter, 

 and bears surprisingly. In Herefordshire the apples most highly 

 esteemed for this purpose are the Quining, or Queening y and the 

 Boovey Red Streak, they are both very fine apples, but particularly 

 the former. There are some excellent sorts in Devonshire ; but, 

 as to sorts, people will generally 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 consequence. First, the sort is to be 

 attended to ; 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 gathering, and not tossed into it ; for 

 the smallest bruise leads with certainly 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 

 the standard-trees long before the apples are ripe. When apples 

 are gathered, they should be laid upon cloths or mats in the sun. 

 or in some dry airy place, until they become perfectly dry in every 

 part of them. If the quantity be large, they ought to be laid 

 upon a floor or upon broad fruit-shelves ; but not one upon the 

 other. Clean straw laid under them is very good ; but I have 

 found a single new mat to be better : they should be looked over 

 frequently to see if they begin to rot, and such as do begin ought 



