8 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  uOTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  3,  1901'. 
merchandise  with  the  European  and  Indian  traders.  They  are,  however, 
careless  and  destructive  in  their  methods  of  rubber  collecting.  Instead 
of  making  a  Y-shaped  incision  in  the  bark  of  the  rubber  vine,  they 
slice  off  large  pieces  of  the  rind  indiscriminately,  and  consequently  the 
plants  suffer  a  great  check  and  do  not  afterwards  yield  so  well.  These 
Kaffirs,  like  most  of  the  African  tribes,  do  not  care  for  hard  work,  but 
if  treated  firmly  and  well  watched  they  make  good  labourers. 
The  country  generally,  as  far  as  I  travelled,  is  heavily  wooded, 
though  the  timber  is  not  of  much  commercial  value  ;  the  trunks  of 
some  of  the  largest  trees  are  converted  into  canoes  by  the  natives. 
Sugar  is  grown  by  one  or  two  European  companies  on  the  flat  districts 
near  the  rivers.  During  the  past  few  years  locusts  have  played  Bad 
havoc  on  the  sugar  estates  and  plantations ;  they  eat  the  young  and 
tender  growths  from  almost  every  tree  and  plant  in  their  course. 
Various  experiments  have  been  tried  to  rid  the  country  of  them  or 
prevent  the  wholesale  destruction  of  the  crops,  but  with  small  success. 
If  Africa  could  be  cleared  of  locusts  and  mosquitoes  it  would  be  much 
more  productive  and  far  healthier. — Arthur  H.  Cooper,  The  Gardens, 
Walton  Oaks,  Epsom. 
Fruit  in  Store. 
The  preservation  of  hardy  fruits,  and  more  particularly  Apples, 
during  the  winter  and  spring  months,  no  matter  how  careful  one  may 
be,  is  always  an  undertaking  the  result  of  which  cannot  be  foreseen. 
Even  in  well-appointed  fruit  rooms,  or  what  are  considered  such, 
weather  influences,  especially  hard  frosts  with  sudden  changes  to 
thaw,  have  a  very  marked  efftct  on  fruit  in  store.  The  condition  of 
the  trees,  which,  unlike  the  weather,  the  gardener  has  it  in  his  own 
hands  to  improve,  is  another  most  important  item  in  determining  how 
fruit  will  keep,  those  furnished  with  abundance  of  fibrous  roots  and 
in  robust  health,  not  permitted  to  carry  crops  beyond  their  ability  to 
finish  perfectly,  producing  that  of  the  best  keeping  quality.  Time 
also  must  be  permitted  the  fruit  to  mature  on  the  trees  before 
gathering.  By  maturing  I  do  not,  of  course,  mean  ripening  ;  there 
is  a  stage  in  the  development  of  both  late  Pears  and  late  Apples 
which,  before  it  has  been  reached,  it  is  not  good  for  the  future  of  the 
fruit  that  it  should  be  removed  from  the  tree.  A  fortnight  in  late 
autumn  will  not  only  affect  the  keeping  of  a  variety  that  ripens  in 
May,  but  it  will  also  largely  affect  its  flavour,  though  the  general 
appearance  of  the  fruit  itself  when  gathered  may  not  vary. 
The  method  of  storing  on  shelves  as  generally  carried  out  in  the 
present  day  cannot  perhaps  be  improved  upon,  but  when  we  turn  to 
methods  adopted  long  ago  and  discover  it  was  common  to  keep  Apples 
the  year  round  it  must  be  conceded  the  admittedly  imperfect  means  in 
the  power  of  those  peojle  produced  much  better  results  than  are 
secured  now.  They  teem  generally  to  have  kept  all  late  Apples  under 
a  thick  air-tight  covering,  and  almost  always  the  fruit  was  laid  in 
heaps,  and  not  singly  in  layers. 
In  the  miller’s  lengthy  description  of  the  carpenter’s  youthful  wife 
he  tells  us,  “  Hir  mouth  was  sweete  as  bragat  is  or  meth  or  hoord  of 
Apples  layd  in  hay  or  heth.”  The  writer  of  “  The  Fruiterers’  Secretes  ” 
describes  the  several  ways  of  preserving  Apples  in  Queen  Elizabeth’s 
days  with  much  clearness  of  detail.  From  Christmas  to  March  they 
were  preserved  in  a  common  room,  from  March  till  May  in  a  ceiled 
room  with  the  sides  plastered,  and  from  May  till  Michaelmas  in  a  dry 
cellar.  Rye  straw  was  to  be  substituted  for  plaster  in  cases  where  a 
plastered  apartment  could  not  be  had,  and  the  walls  and  ceiling 
covered  with  it.  The  fruit  was  laid  on  and  covered  with  sweet  straw. 
It  was  turned  and  decayed  specimens  removed  at  Shrovetide,  then  once 
a  month  till  Whitsuntide,  and  after  that  once  a  fortnight  as  loog  as 
any  fruit  remained.  The  rooms  were  freely  ventilated  during  fine 
weather.  That  very  experienced  old-time  pomologist,  William  Lawson, 
advised  that  “Long  keeping  fruit  would  bee  turned  once  in  a  moneth 
softly,  but  not  in,  nor  in  mediately  after,  frost.  In  a  loft  cover  well 
with  straw,  but  rather  with  chaff  or  bran,  for  frost  doth  cause  tender 
rottenness.”  Thus  it  would  appear  that  so  much  care  in  covering  and 
uncovering  was  largely,  if  not  altogether,  as  a  protection  against  frost. 
In  an  earlier  work,  in  French,  it  is  recommended  to  remove  the 
straw  altogether  in  February,  and  at  the  same  time  to  lay  out  the 
Apples  in  a  single  layer  on  boards.  Late  sorts  were  also  stored  in 
barrels,  in  jars  hermetically  sealed,  and  even  coated  singly  with  loam. 
When  Langley  wrote  of  fruits  the  practice  of  laying  Apples  in  heaps 
still  prevailed,  and  clean  Wheat  straw  was  employed  as  a  covering, 
the  fruit  being  examined  “every  third  day!”  His  contemporary, 
Stephen  Switzer,  condemns  straw,  though  he  admits  that  hitherto  its 
use  had  been  universal,  and  advises  instead  the  employment  of  moss  well 
dried.  F rost  was  to  be  kept  out  by  means  of  a  fire.  About  this  time  the 
practice  of  sealing  the  ends  of  the  stalks  came  into  use.  The  finer 
fruits,  later,  were  hung  from  the  ceiling,  from  which  they  were 
suspended  singly  by  means  of  a  string  attached  to  the  stalk.  Some 
have  also  been  curious  to  lay  the  fruit  with  the  stalk  upwards. 
Lord  Bacon  made  many  experiments  with  Apples,  some  of  which 
had  a  marked  bearing  on  their  keeping  qualities,  and  he  recommends 
dipping  the  fruit  in  honey  as  a  good  preservative.  With  regard  to 
frost,  William  Cobbett  declares  that  it  does  no  harm  to  Apples, 
provided  the  room  is  darkened  and  preserved  whollj'  dark  during 
several  days  after  a  thaw  has  supervened.  And  one  might  continue 
to  cite  examples  such  as  the  above  to  prove  that  as  there  are  more 
ways  than  one  to  Jerusalem,  so  the  preserving  of  Apples  may  be 
eSected  in  many  ways. 
Notwithstanding  Cobbett’s  opinion  regarding  the  all  but  negative 
effects  cf  frost  on  Apples,  experience,  as  already  indicated,  proves  that 
it  really  affects  their  keeping  properties  injuriously,  and  though  a  low 
temperature  varying  only  slightly  is  undoubtedly  essent  al,  a  little 
artificial  fire  heat — I  use  a  Rippingille  stove  during  frost  and  continue 
it  during  the  first  days  of  thaw — affords  a  good  corrective.  Ventilation 
also  requires  attention.  While  the  fruit  is  being  stored  and  a 
little  longer — or  say  till  the  beginning  of  December — air  should  be 
admitted  freely,  windows  standing  open  night  and  day  while  fine 
weather  lasts.  The  effluvium  rising  from  freshly  gathered  fruit  is  by 
this  means  not  at  all  apparent,  and  soft  early  fruits  I  do  not  find  to 
keep  less  well  under  these  conditions.  Except  during  frosts  I  do  not 
think  it  wise  to  exclude  air,  and  means  to  preserve  the  enclosed 
atmosphere  sweet  and  fresh  should  be  provided.  One  must  be  very 
carelul  in  covering  fruit,  Apples  so  quickly  become  tainted,  and  during 
protracted  frosts  I  have  used  paper,  which  leaves  no  bad  taste. 
Windows  at  the  same  time  should  be  thickly  covered  with  dry 
straw.  This,  with  a  slight  heat  to  preserve  an  equable  temperature, 
prevents  the  skins  of  the  fruit  from  injury.  Darkness  is  certainly  not 
essential  for  the  perfect  keeping  of  fruit  until  the  beginning  of 
winter ;  thereafter  it  would  appear  to  exercise  a  happy  effect  in  the 
preservation  of  both  Pears  and  Apples.  Some  varieties  of  Apples  may 
be  kept  fresh  long  after  they  are  worthless  and  have  lost  flavour  ; 
others  when  at  complete  maturity  cannot  be  longer  preserved. 
It  is  the  business  of  the  custodian  of  these  fruits  to  treat  all  such 
intelligently,  as  there  is  loss  in  both  instances  by  keeping  them 
too  long. 
With  regard  to  late  Pears  ;  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  cultivation 
exercises  on  these,  even  more  so  than  on  Apples,  a  very  marked 
influence.  But  apart  from  that,  it  is  remarkable  that  they  affect 
certain  positions  in  the  same  room  rather  than  others.  If  the  fruit 
room  is  of  small  dimensions  this  of  course  will  not  be  so  noticeable, 
but  in  a  good-sized  store  I  have  found  that  they  show  very  marked 
preferences,  and  as  a  rule  it  may  be  stated  as  an  axiom  that  late  sorts 
should  be  preserved  in  the  coolest  and  driest  portion.  They  have 
always  exercised  much  of  the  gardener’s  care,  and  200  years  ago,  at 
least,  the  best  writing  paper  was  recommended  as  a  good  material  on 
which  to  lay  keeping  Pears.  I  cherish  the  idea  that  they  keep 
better  on  open  lath-work,  where  the  air  touches  them  from  all  points, 
than  anywhere  else.  If  possible  the  fruits  once  stored  should  remain 
untouched  till  ripening. — B. 
Gardening  Books. 
At  once  interesting  yet  perhaps  somewhat  disappointing  would  be 
a  complete  list  of  all  the  books  on  gardening  that  have  been  published 
during  the  past  centur}7.  Up  to  1850  a  few  ponderous  works  made 
their  mark  in  horticulture,  for  in  the  earlier  days  ot  the  century 
gardening  youths  studied  these  books  with  considerable  zest  when 
they  could  gain  access  to  them.  Since  1850,  however,  the  growth 
of  gardening  literature  in  book  lorm  has  been  marvellous,  and  it  is 
possible  that  during  the  past  twenty-five  years  more  books  have 
been  published  than  was  put  into  commerce  during  the  previous 
seventy-five  years.  Gardening  books  have  of  late  been  rendered  less 
ponderous  and  didactic,  and  much  more  attractive.  They  are  also  far 
more  liberally  illustrated,  and  tor  their  matter  and  get-up  are  much 
cheaper  than  similar  books  were  in  the  years  precedii  g. 
We  have  books  now  on  every  conceivable  subject  or  phase  of 
gardening.  Nothing  seems  too  small  or  too  large  for  the  writers  of 
books,  and  the  student  to-day  finds  if  the  field  ot  observation  in  books 
is  an  immense  one,  that  at  least  his  efforts  to  become  acquainted  with 
gardening  are  greatly  assisted  by  book  study.  All  the  book  study  in 
the  world,  however,  will  not  make  a  gardener  alone.  Practice  and 
the  observation  derived  from  practice  will  make  a  good  gardener 
of  any  intelligent  person,  but  with  the  addition  of  books  the  develop¬ 
ment  is  far  more  rapid,  and  the  produce  much  more  perfect. 
Possibly  the  wealth  of  books  published  bewilders  the  student,  and 
he  finds  it  hard  to  sift  the  corn  from  the  husks.  Whatever  may  be 
the  charm  and  refinement  which  may  attach  to  gardening,  it  is  yet  an 
avocation  that  can  only  furnish  success  when  it  is  very  practically 
understood.  It  is  that  need  which  proves  to  be  so  great  a  stumbling- 
block  to  many,  especially  to  those  who  have  to  evolve  gardens  and 
gardening  out  of  their  imaginations. — A.  D. 
