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Horticulture (Green fruits are generally)

Green fruits are generally preserved by pickling or salting, and this operation is usually performed by some part of the domestic establishment. To preserve Ripe Fruit.

Such ripe fruit as may be preserved is generally 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 a system of drawers, sometimes spread out in them; at other times wrapped up in papers, or placed in pots, cylindrical earthen vessels, among sand, moss, paper, chaff, hay, saw-dust, etc., or sealed up in air-tight jars or casks, and placed in the fruit-cellar.

To preserve Pears.

Having prepared a number of earthen-ware jars, and a quantity of dry moss, place a layer of moss and pears alternately till the jar is filled, then insert a plug, and seal around with melted rosin. These jars are sunk in dry sand to the depth of a foot; a deep cellar is preferable for keeping them to any fruit-room.

Another Method.

Choice apples and pears are preserved in glazed jars, provided with covers. In the bottom of the jars, and between each two layers of fruit, put some pure pit-sand, which has been thoroughly dried.

The jars are kept in a dry, airy situation, as cool as possible, but secure from frost. A label on the jar indicates the kind of fruit, and when wanted it is taken from the jar and placed for some time on the shelves of the fruit-room.

In this way Colmarts, and other fine French pears may be preserved till April; the Terling till June; and many kinds of apples till July, the skin remaining.

To preserve Apples and Pears.

The most successful method of preserving apples and pears is by placing them in glazed earthen vessels, each containing about a gallon, and surrounding each fruit with paper. These vessels being perfect cylinders, about a foot each in height, stand very conveniently upon each other, and thus present the means of preserving a large quantity of fruit in a very small room; and if the space between the top of one vessel and the base of another be filled with a cement composed of two parts of the curd of skimmed milk, and one of lime, by which the air will be excluded, the later kinds of apples and pears will be preserved with little change in their appearance, and without any danger of decay, from October till February or March. A dry and cold situation, in which there is little change of temperature, is the best for the vessels; but the merits of the pears are greatly increased by their being taken from the vessels about ten days before they are wanted for use, and kept in a warm room, for warmth at this, as at other periods, accelerates the maturity of the pear.

To preserve various sorts of Fruit.

By covering some sorts of cherry, plum, gooseberry and currant trees, either on walls or on bushes with mats, the fruit of the red and white currant, and of the thicker-skinned gooseberrytrees, may be preserved till Christmas and later. Grapes, in the open air, may be preserved in the same manner; and peaches and nectarines may be kept a month hanging on the trees after they are ripe.

Arkwright, by late forcing, retains plump grapes on his vines till the beginning of May, and even later, till the maturity of his early crops. In this way grapes may be gathered every day in the year.

Another Method.

But the true way to preserve keeping-fruit, such as the apple and pear, is to put them in airtight vessels, and place them in the fruit cellar, in a temperature between thirty-two and forty degrees. In this way all the keeping sorts of these fruits may be preserved in perfect order for eating for one year after gathering.

To store Fruit.

Those to be used first, lay by singly on shelves or on the floor, in a dry southern room, on clean dry moss or sweet dry straw, so as not to touch one another. Some, or all the rest, having first laid a fortnight singly, and then nicely culled, are to be spread on shelves or on a dry floor. But the most superior way is to pack in large earthen, China or stone jars, with very dry long moss at the bottom, sides, and also between them if possible. Press a good coat of moss on the top, and then stop the mouth close with cork or otherwise, which should be rosined round about with a twentieth part of beeswax in it. Baked saw-dust will do as well. As the object is effectually to keep out air (the cause of putrefaction), the jars, if earthen, may be set on dry sand, which put also between, round and over them, to a foot thick on the top. In all close storing, observe there should be no doubt of the soundness of the fruit. Guard in time from frost those that lie open. Jars of fruit must be soon used after unsealing.

To keep Apples and Pears for Market.

Those who keep their fruit in storehouses for the supply of the London and other markets, as well as those who have not proper fruit-rooms, may keep their apples and pears in baskets or hampers, putting some soft paper in the bottoms and round the edges of the baskets, etc., to keep the fruit from being bruised; then put in a layer of fruit, and over that another layer of paper; and so on, a layer of fruit and of paper alternately, till the basket or hamper be full. Cover the top with paper three or four times thick to exclude the air and frost as much as possible. Every different sort of fruit should be placed separately; and it will be proper to fix a label to each basket or hamper, with the name of the fruit that it contains, and the time of its being fit for use. Another Way.

Another way of keeping fruit is to pack it in glazed earthern jars. The pears or apples must be separately wrapped up in soft paper, then put a little well-dried bran in the bottom of the jar, and over the bran a layer of fruit; then a little more bran to fill up the interstices between the fruit, and to cover it; and so on, a layer of fruit and bran alternately, till the jar be full: then shake it gently, which will make the fruit and bran sink a little; fill up the vacancy at top with a piece of bladder to exclude the air; then put on the top or cover of the jar, observing that it fits as closely as possible. These jars should be kept in a room where there can be a fire in wet or damp weather.

Nicol considers it an error to sweat apples previously to storing them. The fruit ever after retains a bad flavor. It should never be laid in heaps at all; but if quite dry when gathered should be immediately carried to the fruit-room, and be laid, if not singly, at least thin on the shelves. If the finer fruits are placed on anything else than a clean shelf, it should be on fine paper. Brown paper gives them the flavor of pitch. The fine larger kinds of pears should not