488 



MISCELLANEOUS GARDEN STRUCTURES. 



as a stone during the winter. Plants 

 frozen in a pit, if left covered and in the 

 dark, are seldom injured ; but if exposed 

 to light before being fully thawed, they 

 almost invariably perish. With these 

 practical, facts before our eyes, we are 

 rather surprised at the above opinion 

 being given without some qualification, 

 considering the intelligence and physio- 

 logical attainments of the source from 

 which it emanated. The chemical action 

 here meant may only apply to the dete- 

 rioration of the quality of the fruit, which 

 would assuredly be the result, but cer- 

 tainly not to its decomposition — that is 

 to say, if it is continued to be kept in 

 darkness. To resume our quotation, 

 however : " In any case, fluctuations of 

 temperature are productive of decay. A 

 steady temperature of 35° to 40,° with a 

 dry atmosphere, will be found the best 

 for most kinds of fruit." A dry atmo- 

 sphere has the effect of shrivelling up the 

 skins of apples and pears upon a prin- 

 ciple somewhat analogous to that stated 

 in the paragraph above on Light. " Some 

 pears of the late kinds are, however, better 

 to be kept in a temperature as high as 

 60°, for this ripens them, deprives them 

 of their grittiness, and improves their 

 quality very essentially. We do not, 

 however, conceive that the general con- 

 struction of the fruit-room ought to be 

 altered on their account; we would 

 rather make some especial arrangement 

 for such cases." 



Our practical experience in this matter, 

 and the lessons we got from some of the 

 most eminent Continental fruit-growers, 

 lead us to the conclusion that several 

 apartments are requisite in every fruit- 

 room ; and if we may make so free with 

 the " three degrees of comparison," we 

 would have them in this way — cool, 

 cooler, coolest. The longest-keeping sorts 

 — that is, those that are longest in ripen- 

 ing — should lodge in No. 3, where they 

 would remain, as it were, in a state of 

 suspended animation ; for at a low tem- 

 perature they would neither very speedily 

 rot nor change their state ; — ripen they 

 would not. The medium-keeping sorts 

 should occupy No. 2, and the autumnal 

 kinds No. 1. As the emptying of the 

 last proceeds, it should be filled up from 

 No. 2, and so on until April, May, and 

 June, when all No. 3's inhabitants would, 



after passing through No. 2, at last find 

 themselves in No. 1, in a state almost fit 

 for the table. The ripening process must 

 take place gradually, when upon a large 

 scale ; but circumstances will often occur, 

 making it necessary to accelerate that pro- 

 cess, and then recourse must be had to 

 warm closets or the like, as a pear that 

 might be kept till June in a low tempera- 

 ture may, by being gradually brought into 

 warmer ones, be fit to eat in November. It 

 is warmth that ripens, and cold that pre- 

 vents thatprocess from going on. Mr Bea- 

 ton, a highly intelligent man, says in " The 

 Gardeners' Chronicle :" — " I have some- 

 times had apples as hard as cannon-balls 

 with frost; and by keeping the room quite 

 close for a time after the return of fresh 

 weather, they did not seem much affected 

 by it." The late Thomas Andrew Knight 

 recommended exclusion of air, as he 

 packed his choice fruit in air-tight ves- 

 sels, and placed them " in a dry and cold 

 situation." 



Mr Thompson goes on to say regarding 

 ventilation — " All authors and all practi- 

 cal men are agreed in recommending the 

 air of the fruit-room to be dry. Damp- 

 ness produces mouldiness, encourages the 

 growth of minute fungi, and accelerates 

 the progress of decay, the moment that 

 commences, from whatever cause. It is, 

 however, to be understood that we do not 

 mean by dryness what is chemically so 

 called, but merely that condition of the 

 air to which the term is commonly ap- 

 plied. It is for the sake of preserving 

 this state of the air of the fruit-room that 

 constant ventilation is recommended by 

 many persons ; but in that recommenda- 

 tion we by no means concur. A power 

 of thorough ventilation must, no doubt, 

 be possessed by the gardener, to be used 

 in case of necessity, for the purpose of 

 removing offensive smells arising from 

 the putrefaction of the fruit. But the 

 power should be rarely exercised ; and if 

 the commencement of decay is watched 

 with vigilance — if no substances liable to 

 decay are introduced — if fruit is removed 

 as soon as it begins to spot — and, finally, 

 if perfect cleanliness is maintained, there 

 will seldom be any occasion for ventila- 

 tion. 



" One reason why ventilation by con- 

 tinual currents of air is objectionable, is, 

 that they incessantly carry off from fruit 



