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part by fractm-e or torsion witli the liand, as in pinching off strawbeiTies between the
iingüi- aud tliumb ; gatlicring peas, with one liand applied to retain the stem firm and the
other to tear asunder the peduncle, &c. In all cases of using the knife, the general
principle of cutting is to be attended to, leaving always a sound section on the living
plant. Sometimes the entire plant is gathered, as in celery and onions ; and at other
times only the root or tuber, as in potatoes and carrots. In taking up these, care must
be taken not to injure the epidermis, as on the presciwation of this depends the retention
ot juices m the plant, as well as its beauty, and keeping.
2683. The gathering o f hardy fruits should take place “ in the middle part of a dry
day ; not in the morning, before the dew is evaporated, nor in the evening, when it begins
to be deposited. Plums readily pai-t from the twigs when ripe : they should not be much
iiandled, as the bloom is apt to be rubbed off. Apricots may be accounted ready, when
the side next the sun feels a Httle soft upon gentle pressure with the finger. They
adhere firmly to the tree, and would over-ripen on it and become mealy. Peaclics
and nectarines, if moyed upwards, aud allowed to descend with a single jerk, wiU separate,
it ready. The old rule for judging of the ripeness of figs, was to observe if a drop of
water w£^ hanging at the end of the fi-uit ; a more certain one is, to notice when the
small end becomes of the same colour as the lai-ge end. The most transparent grapes
ai-e the most npc. All the ben-ies on a bunch never ripen equally ; and it is therefore
proper to cut away unripe or decayed berries before presenting the bunches at table.
Autumn and winter pears are gathered, when di-y, as they successively ripen The
early vaneties of apples begin to be useful for the kitchen in the end of June, particu-
lariy the codiins aud the juiieating ; and in Ju ly they are fit for the dessert. From this
tune tiU October or November, many kinds ripen in succession. The safest rule is to
observe when the fruit begins to faU naturally. Another easy mode of ascertaining is
to raise the fruit level witii the foot-stalk ; if ripe, it will part readily from the tree : this
mode ot tn a l is also applicable to peai-s. A third criterion is to cut up an apple of the
average ripeness of the crop, and examine if its seeds liave become brown or blackish • if
they remain uncoloured, the fruit is not ready for pulling. Immature fruit never keeps
so well as that which nearly approaches maturity ; it is more apt to shrivel and lose
tlavom-. Winter apples are left on the trees till there is danger of frost : they are then
gathered on a dry day.” (Ed. Encyc., art. Hort.) With care and the use of proper
ladders (figs. 507. to 512.), evci-y kind of fruit, from the gooseben-y to the walnut, may
be gathered, without bruising it, and without injuring the tree.
2684. The^ gathering of seeds should take place in veiy dry weather, when the seed-
pods, by beginning to open, give indications of perfect ripeness. Being rubbed out with
the hand, beaten witb. a stick, or passed tln-ough a portable thi-eshing-machine, they are
then to be sepm-ated by sieves and fanners from thcir husks, &c., and spread out in a
shaded an y loft till they are so dry as to be fit for putting up in linen or paper ba«-s or
piacmg in drawers in the seed-room till wanted. ® ’
2685. Preserving heads or leaves o f vegetables is effected in ceUai-s or sheds, of any
temperature, not lower than, nor mucli above, the freezing point. Tlius cabbages, endive
chiccory, lettuce, &c., taken out of the ground with thcir main roots, in perfectly diy
weather, at the end of tlie season, and laid in, or partially immersed in sand or dry
eai-th, in a close shed, cellar, or ice-cold room, will keep through the winter, and be
fit tor use tiU spring, and often till the return of the season of theft produce in tho
garden. _ ih e Gei-man gardeners are expert at tiiis practice ; and more cspeciaUy
in Kussia, where the necessities, being greater, have called forth greater skiU and
attention. ^
2686. Flowers and leaves fo r decoration may be presei-ved by diying between leaves of
paper, or in ovens ; or imbedded m tlieir natural position in fine diy sand, placed in that
state in an oven. In this pot of sand they will keep for years ; but they must not be
taken out till wanted. When at a little distance, it wül be diificult to distinguish them
trom siich as are ficsh gathered. A rose is cut when the petals and leaves are perfectly
dry, a httle sand is put in the bottom of the flower-pot, the rose is stuck in the sand and
sand IS then slowly sprinlded in till the rose be covered and the pot filled. Iu Paris
and Milan the more popular flowers are frequently preserved in this way.
2687. Moots are preserved in different ways, according to the object in view. Tubers
as tiiose of tbe dahlia, pæony, tuberose, &c., intended to he planted in the succeeding
spring, ai-e preserved tlu-ough the winter in dry earth, in a temperature rather under
than above what is natural to them ; and so may be kept the bulbs and tubers of commerce,
as hyacinths, tulips, onions, potatoes, &c. ; but for convenience, tiiese ai-e kept
loose either on cool dry shelves or in lofts, and the finer sorts in papers, tiU the season
of planting. ^
2688. Potatoes, turnips, and all similar plants, which it is desired to preserve in a dormant
or unvegetating state beyond the season of planting, have only to be sunk in pits
to a depth sufficient to prevent vegetation from taking place. A pit fiUed with these
roots or tubers to within 5 ft. of the surface, and the remainder compactly closed with
earth, and kept quite dry, will keep one or more years in a sound state, and without
vegetating. (Farmer’s Mag.) For convenience of using, there should be a nmnber of
small pits, or rather of large pots, of tubers, so buried at a little distance from each otlier,
that no more may be taken up at a time than what can be consumed in a few days. The
mould or compost gi-ound will, in general, be found a convenient place for this operation
; and, for a small family, pots contrived with covers, or with thcir saucers used as
covers, may be deeply immersed in a lai-ge shaded ridge of eartli, to be taken up, one at
a time, as wanted. Grain, apples, and potatoes are kept the whole year in deep pits, in
sandy soil, formed in the village-grcens of some parts of Gallicia and Moravia, aud in
banks and rocks in S p a in ; and garden seeds are kept in the same manner in France.
(See D u Breuil’s Arboriculture, p. 117.) Oldaker infoi-ms us, in his account of his musli-
room-house (Hort. Tr., vol. ii.), that he preserved broccoli in it through the w in te r; and
Henderson, of Brechin, makes use of the ice-house for preserving “ tubers of all kinds till
the return of the natural crop.” “ By the month of April,” he says, “ the ice in our
ice-housc is found to have subsided 4 ft. or 5 ft.; and in this empty room I deposit
the vegetables to be preserved. After stuffing the vacuities with straw, and covering
the surface of the ice with the same material, I place on it case-boxes, dry ware casks,
baskets, & c .; and fill them with tm-nips, carrots, beet-roots, celery, and, in particulai-,
potatoes. By the cold of the place vegetation is so much suspended, that all tliese
articles may be thus kept fresh and uninjured, till they give place to another crop in its
natural season.”
2689. Green fru its are generally presci-ved by piclding or salting, and the operation
is performed by some part of the domestic establishment; but in some countries it is
made the province of the gardener, who, in Poland, preserves cucumbers and kolil-
rabi by salting, and then immersing them in casks at the bottom of a deep well, where
the water, preserving nearly the same temperature throughout the year, impedes their
decay. It must be confessed, however, that vegetables so preserved arc only fit to be
eaten with animal food, as preserved cabbage (sauer hraut) or salted legumes.
2690. Such ripe fr u it as may be preserved is geuerally laid up in lofts and bins, or
shelves, when in large quantities, and of baking qualities ; but the better sorts of apples
and pears are now preserved in sets of drawers (fig. 658.), sometimes spread out in
them, at other times m-apt up in p ap e rs; or placed in pots, cylindrical earthen vessels,
among sand, moss, paper, chaff, hay, sawdust, &c., or sealed up in air-tight jars or casks,
and placed in the fruit-cellai- (2194.). The finest pears, as the crasamies and chau-
montelles, may have their footstalks previoiLsly tipped with sealing-wax, as practised in
France and the isles of Jersey and Guernsey.
2691. after sweating and
I wiping pears,—in which operations, he says, great care must be taken
not to bruise the fruit,—packs th em em in ______________ close baskets having -
some wheat-straw in th e bottom and around
th e sides to prevent bruising, and a lining of thick soft paper to hinder the musty flavour of the straw
from infecting th e fruit. Only one kind of fru it is put in each basket, as the process of maturation is
more or less rapid in different kinds. A covering of paper and straw is fixed on the top, and the basket
is then deposited in a dry room, secure against the access of frost, “ and the less air is let into the room,
th e better the fru it will keep.” A label should be attached to each basket, denoting the kind of f r u it ;
for the basket is not to be opened till the fruit be wanted for use. Very little straw should, however,
be used ; and it should be kiln-dried. It is only useful against bruising, and sudden changes of temp
eratu re . If paper be used, it should not be thicker than writing paper, otherwise it occasions mustiness.
2C92. JamesiStewart\>rQi,er\e?, his choice apples and pears in giazed earthenware jars, provided w ith tops
or covers. In the bottom of the jars, and between each layer of fruit, heputs some pure pit-sand, which
has been thoroughly dried on a flue. T'he jars are kept in a dry airy situation, as cool as possible, but
.secure from frost. A label on the ja r indicates the kind of f r u it ; and when this is wanted or ought to
be used, it is taken from the jars, and placed for some time on the shelves of the fruit-room. The less
ripe fruit is sometimes restored to the jars, but with newly dried sand. In this way he preserves col-
mars and other fine F rench pears till April, th e Easter bergamot till June, and many kinds of apples
till July, the skin remaining smooth and piump. Others, who also employ earthenware jars, wrap each
fruit in paper, and, in place of sand, use bran. {Ed. Encyc. art. H o n .)
2693. Ingram, a t Torry, in Scotland, finds, that for w inter pears two apartments are requisite,—a colder
and a warmer ; b u t the former, though cold, must be free from damp. From it th e fruit is brought into
the warmer room, as wanted ; and by means of increased temperature, maturation is promoted, and the
fru it rendered delicious and mellow. Chaumontelles, for example, are placed in close drawers, so near
to a stove, th a t the temperature may constantly be between 60° and 70° Fahr. For most kinds of fruit,
however, a temperature equal to 55'^ is found sufficient. The degree of heat is accurately determined
by keeping small thermometers in several of the fruit drawers a t different distances from the stove. The
drawers are about 6 in. deep, 3 ft. long, and 2ft. broad ; they are made of hard wood, fir being apt to
spoil the flavour of the fruit. They are frequently examined, in order to give air, and to observe the
state of the fruit, it being wiped when necessary. Ingram remarks, th a t, in Scotland particularly, late
pears should have as much of the tree as possible, even although some frost should supervene ; such as
ripen freely, on the other hand, are plucked ra the r before they reach maturity.
2694. Winter apples are laid in heaps, aud covered with mats or straw, or short cut grass well dried. Here
they lie for a fortnight or more, to sweat, as it is called, or to discharge some of their juice ; after which
th e skin contracts in a certain degree. They are n ex t wiped dry with a woollen cloth, and placed in the
fruit-room. Sometimes, when intended for winter dessert fruit, they are made to undergo a farther
sweating ; and are again wiped and picked: they are then laid singly on the shelves, and covered with
paper. Here they are occasionally turned, aud such as show any symptoms of decay are immediately
removed.
2695. In th c garden o f tke Horticultural Society i>ears and apples are found to keep longest when packed
in dried fern, baked sand, or kiln-dried straw, and placed in a dry shed or cellar, where very little change
of temperature takes place. But wooden drawers are preferable as regards flavour; for all kinds of
packing are apt to taint the fruit, more or less. Moss, in particular, should never be used.
taré
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