File:The American garden (1873) (17530335393).jpg

Title: The American garden
Identifier: americang1418811883broo (find matches)
Year: 1873 (1870s)
Authors:
Subjects: Horticulture; Gardening
Publisher: Brooklyn, N. Y. : (s. n. )
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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1883.) THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 205 THE FRANCIS B. HATES GRAPE, Under this name, which the public will probably shorten to "Hayes" Grape, we received from Messrs. Joint B. Moore <('■ Sons, Concord, Mem., a few medium-sized, moder- ately compact bunches of Grapes. The berries are of good medium size, globular, greenish-white, changing to amber-yellow when fully ripe ; skin very firm ; flesh tender, juicy, very sweet, and of but very slight foxiness—less, we think, than in other purely native white varieties. It ripens, as Mr. Moore states, from seven to ten days before Concord, has healthy, thick -foliage free from disease, is a very vigor- ous grower, hardy, and a prolific beai'er. It is one of the seedlings raised simul- taneously with "Moore's Early," and is imbued with the same hardy habit of that excellent early black Grape. This variety has been ex- hibited for several years be- fore the Massachusetts Hor- ticultural Society, where it was highly commended and awarded a First Class Cer- tificate of Merit. Being of purely native, origin, and of thoroughly proved hardiness, it promises to become a val- uable Grape for cultivation in northern latitudes. Vines will not be offered for sale before autumn, 1834. dollar or more to its marketable value. Apples should be dried as quickly as is con- sistent with thorough work. To expedite drying, slice them very thin, and where only a supply for the family is to be prepared these thin slices are best dried upon plates or earthenware dishes. They will not then taste of the wood, as is the case when spread upon boards and frames. Apple-leather, when neatly prepared, is a most excellent and convenient article for the housekeeper. It is made by stewing the SAVE THE FRUIT, Taking the country as a whole, there is a great sear- city of fruit this year, which is especially the case with Apples. Excepting in a few favored localities, the Apple crop is unusually light — so much so that we cannot be too economical in the dispo- sition of the harvest. Even were there an excess, nothing should be wasted; for there are millions of people in our cities and vil- lages, and in newer sections of the country where fruit trees have not yet been planted to any extent, who will gladly pay good prices for fruit of all kinds, green and prepared. We can do much to eke out the supply of winter fruit by carefully preparing such fall varieties as will not keep fresh through the winter. Millions of bushels of Crab-apples, and the inferior grades of other varieties, annually go to waste — which amount, if carefully and economic- ally handled, would go far toward supplying the country with fruit until another crop is harvested. Clean, well-cored, and carefully dried Ap- ples are always wholesome and palatable. If desired to sell, they will bring double the price that slovenly prepared ones will. A few cents' worth of time and care in pre- paring a bushel will not infrequently add a
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AYES GRAPE. fruit as if for sauce, then spreading thinly upon plates, and drying in the hot sun. or in an oven kept at so low a temperature as to preclude all possibility of scorching. It is always ready for use by simply soaking. Peaches and other fruits may be prepared in the same manner. Apples are usually spread out on floors or in bins after being gathered, and left there to " sweat out," until cold weather calls for more thorough protection. Much can be lost or saved in these few weeks, as, with the utmost care even, some of them will get bruised, causing decay. If left in the pile a month or six weeks without sorting, many of the good ones will become affected, thus causing a useless loss. Apples should therefore be sorted over once or twice during the fall, taking out and dry- ing all those that show signs of decay, and wiping the others with cloths, moving them, at the same time, to another bin or piece of floor that is perfectly dry. After once "sweating out." they will keep best when carefully packed in barrels. Even then they should be handled over once or twice during the winter. Apples are not at all diffi- cult to keep, unless you are too fond of them, or very careless in providing a place and in handling them. There are more lost by storing in damp, warm, and poorly ven- tilated cellars than from any other cause. If the attic of a house could be made frost-proof it would be an excellent place for storing Apples. Wherever they are stored, they should have good ventilation, for they throw off a great deal of moisture, with which the at- mosphere becomes charged. For sanitary reasons alone, if not for any others, a cel- lar under the house in which roots and fruits are kept should always have facilities for thorough ventilation. A little economical man- agement this fall will save much of our fruit, and go far toward preventing a sear- city of that very necessary article. W. I). BOYNTON. PLUM TREES IN POULTRY YARDS. The experiences at the New-York Agricultural Sta- tion furnish additional and convincing proof that the effect of poultry about Plum trees is very beneficial, by hindering the work of the cureulio. All the Plum trees are, with a single exception, in the poultry yard. Of one hundred specimens of fruit taken at random on different trees in the yard, but three were found stung by insects ; while in the same number on the tree outside, thirty-seven had been stung. Nearly all the trees within the poultry yard produced a good crop of fine Plums, while the outside one bore but a few speci- mens. CANNED FRUITS. The canned fruit product of California has largely increased within the last decade. The product of 1875 aggregated in value about $500,000. In 1878 it had reached $1,250,000. In 1880 $1,500,000, and in 1832 the product is set down with a value equal to $2,600,000.

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