CURREMT GARDEN LORE. 



187 



Preserving Fruits for 

 Show Purposes. 



PrcservrngJFruits 'for Show Purposes. — The sec- 

 retary of 'the World's Fair Commission for New Mexico 

 describes the method to be used in preserving the im- 

 mense fruit exhibit of that state in 1893, and by which 

 the fruit can be kept without the loss of color, form or 

 taste for an indefinite period. Take any good water- 

 tight barrel, closed at both ends. 

 Insert a faucet at the bottom, 

 and on one side saw an opening 

 shaped like the one in the cut. 

 Make the lower part of the 

 opening to fit an inch board ; 

 the upper part to fit a saucer. 

 Insert a piece of board about 

 eight inches in length so that it 

 extends at least six inches into 

 the barrel. A cleat should be 

 nailed across the outer end to 

 prevent its slipping into the 

 barrel. Fill the barrel up to 

 the level of the opening with 

 water. Now place a saucer two-thirds full of ordinary 

 yellow sulphur on the board. Sprinkle over it a little 

 common potassium chlorate. Light the sulphur and 

 push it along the board till it is inside the barrel ; then 

 cover the barrel closely with an old blanket or quilt, 

 winding it around so as to prevent the escape of the sul- 

 phur-fumes. Repeat this burning several times, till the 

 water is strongly impregnated with the sulphur ; then 

 draw off the water in glass jars. Add an ounce or two 

 of powered alum to each gallon jar. The preparation 

 is now ready for any fruit, and will preserve it indefin- 

 itely, although to obtain the best results sound fruit 

 should be used. 



A New Grafting-Device. — The cut gives a correct 

 idea of the grafter as it is set on the stub ready for use- 

 The concave 

 back-piece i s 

 set and held in 

 place by the 

 trigger working 

 in the notches. 

 To cut, the top 

 handle is 

 turned over to 

 the right, and, 

 acting as a lev- 

 er, drives the knife in, cutting the slot. It is quickly 

 loosened and removed, the whole work being done in an 

 instant.— Catalogue of Hail, Taylor &^ Co., of Cal- 

 Some English Filberts. — Gai-dfning Illustralnd 

 names the following as good kinds : Downton cob, here 

 figured, a fine prolific kind ; Bond-nut, excellent ; Lam- 

 bert filbert or Kentish cob, prolific, of fine flavor ; Pear- 

 son's prolific, excellent; Cosford, excellent, early; and 

 the purple and frizzled filberts. These nuts are com- 

 monly raised from suckers, but cuttings are better. The 

 cuttings are made of the upper wood when of moderate 

 size and well-ripened. Plant in a bed of rich sandy soil. 



HoiT s Grafting-Device. 



at about six inches apart, in early spring. During th^ 

 first summer pinch out the points of any shoots which 

 may be growing away from the others, when they are 

 about six inches long, repeating the operation as neces- 

 sary to induce uniform growth. .At the winter-pruning 



41 



Downton Cob-nut. 



cut back to four or six inches. During the second sum- 

 mer the stronger shoots should be stopped occasionally 

 to equalize the growth. At the end of the second year 

 they should be large enough to transplant to permanent 

 positions. 



The Instincts of Trees. — Every one has observed 

 how certain kinds of trees in a forest reach upward and 

 outward for the sunlight. They cannot exist without it, 

 and amid the crowd of competitors by which they are 

 surrounded, they have a hard struggle to obtain the life- 

 giving beams. Some kinds of trees which do not require 

 much sunshine often envelop and half-smother those 

 which require more, and which are compelled to run up 

 their trunks to a great height in order that their crown 

 of leaves may be exposed to the light. Frequently such 

 trees resemble tall columns when viewed from the aisles 

 of the forest below, as no branches appear upon their 

 trunks until they have attained the top of the surround- 

 ing foliage. But if one would use his eyes to the best 

 advantage, it is not enough to observe merely that some 

 trees reach after the light more eagerly than others do. 

 The differences in the kinds of trees that behave thus 

 should be noted. Poplars, walnuts, hickories, willows, 

 birches, pines and locusts thirst for the sunlight, and can 

 not thrive unless they have plenty of it. Yews, beeches 

 and spruces thrive in the shade. The reader would find 

 a most interesting study in noting the preferences shown 

 by different trees in this respect. Their instinct in fol- 

 lowing nature sometimes appears almost as surprising 

 as that exhibited by animals. — Youth's Companion. 



