268 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Aug 
even the later autumn apples, may be kept during win¬ 
ter in cool cellars. But on the approach of warm wea¬ 
ther, those that escape decay, soon have their flavor and 
freshness dissipated in the air. A vacancy of many 
weeks then occurs before the ripening of early fruits, 
which can be supplied only by long-keepers. 
A fruit must possess two distinct qualities for this pur¬ 
pose,—namely, endurance from decay, and retention of 
flavor. For this purpose we shall probably not soon find 
any equal to the Newtown Pippin—and next to this are 
the English and Roxbury Russets. The Northern Spy 
is a fine keeper, and when preserved in a cool cellar re¬ 
tains well its freshness, even into the first of summer; 
but later in the season, it loses its flavor while yet re¬ 
taining its juicy flesh and showy appearance. The Kings¬ 
ley Apple, a new variety, introduced by Dr. Long of 
Rochester, a small fruit of unusual delicacy of texture, 
will keep a long time, but it does not usually retain its 
best flavor long after the approach of warm weather. 
For conveyance to distant markets, the Northern Spy 
does not seem so well fitted as some others, being more 
liable to injury. This fine apple, in truth, not only needs 
more care in cultivation than most others, but when gath¬ 
ered, packed and shipped, should be handled with the 
same care that is given to a fine piece of crockery or a 
looking-glass. 
One of the best long-keeping sweet apples is the La¬ 
dies' Sweet. We know of no sort Which presents so beau¬ 
tiful an appearance by its brilliant coloring late in 
spring—although in richness of flavor it does not reach 
the highest point. A drawback is the slow growth of the 
tree. It is a profuse bearer. 
Fruit Drying Apparatus. 
The best means of preserving the surplus of the vast 
fruit crops which will in a few years be raised in all parts 
of the country, cannot fail to become a matter of gene¬ 
ral interest. We copy from the last number of the 
Michigan Farmer, the following description of a fruit¬ 
drying house , which appears to be a good one, but we 
would suggest the use of fine netting made of hard- 
twisted twine, instead of lath screens; and a good ven¬ 
tilator at the top of the building for the free egress of 
the heated air as it becomes continually loaded with the 
moisture of the fruit. The free circulation of the air, 
so essential to rapid drying, would doubtless be facilita¬ 
ted by allowing a space between the screens and the 
outer wall. 
Having a large orchard, consisting of 500 apple trees 
and 150 peach trees, which have just commenced bear¬ 
ing, I found it necessary to adopt some method to secure 
my fruit, and drying presented itself as the safest and 
most profitable way. I built an upright of 9 by 11, 8 
feet in height, on a good stone foundation, placing a com¬ 
mon 12 light windowin one end, andin the other, fronting 
the house, a door. In the end where the window is I 
have a chimney. The walls are 8 inches in thickness, 
arched and plastered inside. The inside work consists 
of screens, 25 in number, 2 feet 3 inches wide, 12 on 
each side and one overhead. These are supported by 
2 inch square posts in each corner, in which mortices 
| by 1 Z f inch are made to receive a railing to support the 
screens. The rails are received at the other end in a 
gane mortice, and may be taken out at pleasure. 
The screens are made of wood in the following man 
nei'; 3 strips of 4 by I 4 to fit the inside, (the one in the 
middle rendering it stiff.) Across these are nailed small 
slats, near enough together to retain fruit when dry,- 
thus making a light, stout and durable screen. These 
are sufficiently large to hold from 1 to 1 ^ bushels each, 
which enables me to put up 30 or 35 bushels at a filling. 
By means of a large box stove these may be thoroughly 
dried in 36 hours, and then refilled. The fruit dried in 
this manner is of superior quality, being much better in 
flavor, and presenting a cleaner and neater appearance 
than when dried in the ordinary way. 
Horticultural Memoranda. 
Protecting tender Roses. —After trying various 
modes of sheltering tender roses during winter, including 
the use of moss, inverted turf, straw, tan-bark covered 
with boards, &c., none appears to be equal lo a covering 
with the branches of evergreens. Plants but slightly 
tender need very little shielding in this way; while those 
the most susceptible of injury should be encased several 
inches thick. One eminent advantage which this treat¬ 
ment possesses, is the entire freedom from decay in the 
bark and stems of the shielded plants, which sometimes 
results from other modes. Pine, hemlock, white cedar, 
&c., may be used for this purpose. Where evergreen 
hedges or screens have been planted, the shearings or 
clippings may be employed with great convenience. 
Bleeding of Grape-vines. —When the grape is prun¬ 
ed in autumn, in winter, or very early in spring, the 
sap-vessels will close, and no flow from the wound will 
follow. But where this needful work has been omitted 
at the right time, those who have an aversion to prune 
in consequence of the prodigious flow of the sap which 
takes place as the buds expand, may save themselves all 
trouble from this cause by waiting some days till the 
leaves are as large as a currant leaf. If the pruning is 
then performed no bleeding will take place. Pruned at 
this season, w T e have found young hardy vines to do as 
w r ell as at any other time. The injury resulting from 
the flow of sap, is however, overrated; and by some ex¬ 
perienced cultivators it is believed to produce no injury 
whatever. 
Remedy for Plum knots. —The old-fashioned remedy, 
“ to cut and keep cutting still proves infallible. Un¬ 
fortunately, is is very rarely applied, even by those who 
think they have given it a fair trial. Perhaps the disease 
has been permitted to advance for two or three months 
before it has even excited attention. The knife is then 
made use of and a single operation is regarded enough. 
No wonder that a remedy, applied in such a burlesque 
manner, should be considered inefficient. We observe 
that the application of copperas-water to the wounds 
made by the excision of the knots on the larger branch 
es. is spoken of highly by different cultivators. 
The Cherry Slug. —This larva, which eats the pulpy 
part of the leaf of the cherry, and sometimes of other 
fruit trees, is most effectually routed by a sprinkling of 
lime. Air-slacked lime, applied in the dew of the morn¬ 
ing, usually accomplishes the desired purpose. Dry, 
water-slacked lime, taken fresh, is still better, being 
more caustic. 
Pear Blight. —The cause of this disease, like the 
potato rot, will probably for a long time remain in per¬ 
fect obscurity; but the remedy where an attack has ac¬ 
tually commenced, is plain. Nothing can restore a 
diseased limb, the poison from which otten spreads to 
