APEICOTS. 



109 



whole crop is lost. As much watchful care is necessary 

 to remove protection when it is not needed as to give it 

 when it is. Different materials have been already spoken 

 of; and if none of them are at hand, fronds of fern, 

 branches of spruce-fir, or wisps of straw may be used. 



Although manuring to encourage a too rampant 

 growth must be avoided, a little good mulching, when 

 the fruit is swelling, in May, and liquid manure when it 

 is making its last growth, will do good. 



The Moor Park apricot in some localities is very sub- 

 ject to canker. If the tree is old, little can be done for 

 it ; in fact, when an apricot tree gets much diseased, it 

 is generally most profitable to replace it with a young 

 one ; but canker may be prevented by taking up a young 

 tree when it has been trained three or four years, pruning 

 off* the roots which are inclined to shoot downwards, 

 replanting it and spreading the other roots horizontally, 

 taking care that the part which has been budded be kept 

 six or eight inches above the surface of the ground. The 

 fruit should be gathered before it is quite ripe, or it 

 becomes mealy. 



The Masculine, Eed Masculine, Brown Masculine, 

 Abricot [N'atif Musque, or early Masculine, is the best early 

 apricot, ripening the middle or end of July. It was 

 once known to ripen even in May under favourable 

 circumstances ; but the tree is tender, and requires a 

 south or south-east aspect, and a warm, sheltered 

 situation. If it has not these advantages the crop is 

 not good, but if well placed it does well, and it is the 

 earliest apricot we have. The fruit is round and small, 

 yellow tinted, wdth red on one side ; sweet, rather musky 

 in flavour, and juicy. The shape is a little irregular, 

 the suture rather deep, the stone thick and smooth, 

 separating easily from the flesh, and bitter in the kernel. 

 The White Masculine is similar in character. 



The large early Precoce, Grros Precoce, Abricot de St. 

 Jean, St. Jean Eouge, or xlbricot Gros d'Alexandrie, 

 ripens next. In France it is ripe at midsummer, whence 

 its name of St. Jean. The fruit is oblong, with a deep 

 suture, a downy, orange-coloured skin, and spots of red 



