PR ES K 11 VING FllUlT* 123 



procured, and thoroughly dried in an oven ; a layer 

 of sand is first put in the bottom, on which a layer 

 of fruit (the eye towards the side) is placed and 

 covered with sand ; next a layer of fruit, and so on 

 alternately till the jar is full. The fruit are so dis- 

 posed, that no two touch each other : and when 

 the jar is filled and shaken down^ it is plugged or 

 bunged up, covered with w^ax, and tied over with 

 bladder, or w^hite leather, on which the name of the 

 fruit is written. The jars are stowed away in a dry 

 cellar 5 and in this way apples and pears have been 

 preserved good for twelve months. 



Pitting apples, like potatoes, has lately been prac- 

 tised, and succeeds very well. It is a German 

 custom : and w^hen there is no other convenience for 

 storing the fruit, it may be had recourse to. Choose 

 a perfectly dry spot of ground, dig out a trench five 

 feet wide, of any required length, and one foot deep 

 from the natural level of the ground. After the 

 sides are sloped, cover both them and the bottom 

 with turf, the grass side outwards, on which the 

 fruit are laid, two and a half feet thick, but highest 

 like a ridge along the middle. The apples are then 

 covered closely up with turves, the grass side next the 

 fruit : and over all must be laid a covering of dry 

 earth one foot thick. All the best keeping apples 

 may be preserved in this way till the months of March 

 and April ; but it should be observed, that they re- 

 main sound but for a very short time after being 

 taken from the pit. Protecting the fruit from the 



