FRUIT, To Preserve for Winter Use. — Pick the fruit on a very
fine day, remove all the blemished ones, and, if necessary, trim the stalks
from those intended to be preserved. Have some perfectly clean wide-
mouthed bottles ; turn each of these, the instant before filling, neck
downwards, and burn a few splints of wood inside ; drop in the fruit
before the vapour escapes, shake gently down, press into the neck a new
cork, and dip the neck of the bottle into melted rosin. Set the bottles of
fruit at night in an oven just warm, and allow them to remain till the
morning. The oven must not be too hot, or the bottles will burst. Any
kind of fruit will keep good twelve months when bottled in this way if
the manipulation is quickly carried out.
V
FRUIT TREES, To Eradicate Gum from.— First scrape off all
the gum, and afterwards wash the branches with a compost of clay, iiorse-
dung, and tar. , , ,
FRUIT TREES, To Get Rid of Moss on.— Wash the branches
with strong brine or a strong solution of lime.
FRUIT TREES. To Protect them from Birds.— In the autumn,
directly the leaves have fallen, dust the bushes with a mixture of quick-
lime and soot, and repeat the operation two or three times during the
winter. It wilt be found that birds will not touch the buds which form
afterwards. Pans of water should be set about the garden, especially in
summer, for if the birds cannot obtain their natural beverage, they will
slake their thirst with the juice of the fruit.
FRUIT TREES, Transplanting.— From experiments lately made
it would appear that fruit trees may be transplanted at any season of the
year, provided that the proper time of the day be selected for the opera-
tion. The experimenter transplanted ten cherry trees, while in blossom,
commencing at four o'clock in the afternoon, and transplanted one each
hour, until one o’clock in the morning. Those transplanted in the day-
light shed their blossoms, producing little or no fruit, while those planted
during the darker portions of the day maintained their position fully. He
did the same with ten dwarf pear trees, after the fruit was one-third grown.
Those transplanted during the day shed their fruit ; those moved during
the night perfected their crop and showed no injury from having been
shifted. With each of the trees the earth around the roots was disturbed
as little as possible.
FUCHSIAS, The Treatment of. — Cuttings from these plants will
strike readily under a hand-light. When sufficiently strong, transplant
them to any light, rich soil, and supply them very liberally with water or
very weak liquid manure.
FUEL (CHEAP). — Mix together like common mortar one bushel
of small coal, one bushel of sawdust, a bushel and a half of clay, and
two bushels of sand. Make them into bricks or balls, and set them by
to dry ; they are then ready for use. A fire cannot be lighted with them,
but when the fire is well alight put a few pieces of coal in front and the
brick of fuel at the back. They will keep up a stronger fire than ordinary
coal.
Page 78
Presented as published in 1891. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
FRUIT, To Preserve for Winter Use. — Pick the fruit on a very fine day, remove all the blemished ones, and, if necessary, trim the stalks from those intended to be preserved. Have some perfectly clean wide-mouthed bottles ; turn each of these, the instant before filling, neck downwards, and burn a few splints of wood inside ; drop in the fruit before the vapour escapes, shake gently down, press into the neck a new cork, and dip the neck of the bottle into melted rosin. Set the bottles of fruit at night in an oven just warm, and allow them to remain till the morning. The oven must not be too hot, or the bottles will burst. Any kind of fruit will keep good twelve months when bottled in this way if the manipulation is quickly carried out.
FRUIT TREES, To Eradicate Gum from.— First scrape off all the gum, and afterwards wash the branches with a compost of clay, horse-dung, and tar. , , ,
FRUIT TREES, To Get Rid of Moss on.— Wash the branches
with strong brine or a strong solution of lime.
FRUIT TREES. To Protect them from Birds.— In the autumn, directly the leaves have fallen, dust the bushes with a mixture of quicklime and soot, and repeat the operation two or three times during the winter. It wilt be found that birds will not touch the buds which form afterwards. Pans of water should be set about the garden, especially in summer, for if the birds cannot obtain their natural beverage, they will slake their thirst with the juice of the fruit.
FRUIT TREES, Transplanting.— From experiments lately made it would appear that fruit trees may be transplanted at any season of the year, provided that the proper time of the day be selected for the operation. The experimenter transplanted ten cherry trees, while in blossom, commencing at four o'clock in the afternoon, and transplanted one each hour, until one o’clock in the morning. Those transplanted in the daylight shed their blossoms, producing little or no fruit, while those planted during the darker portions of the day maintained their position fully. He did the same with ten dwarf pear trees, after the fruit was one-third grown. Those transplanted during the day shed their fruit ; those moved during the night perfected their crop and showed no injury from having been shifted. With each of the trees the earth around the roots was disturbed as little as possible.
FUCHSIAS, The Treatment of. — Cuttings from these plants will strike readily under a hand-light. When sufficiently strong, transplant them to any light, rich soil, and supply them very liberally with water or very weak liquid manure.
FUEL (CHEAP). — Mix together like common mortar one bushel of small coal, one bushel of sawdust, a bushel and a half of clay, and two bushels of sand. Make them into bricks or balls, and set them by to dry ; they are then ready for use. A fire cannot be lighted with them, but when the fire is well alight put a few pieces of coal in front and the brick of fuel at the back. They will keep up a stronger fire than ordinary coal.