(3.) At the full development of leaf and when the downward current of sap is begun.
5. It is a matter of great importance to ascertain whether the character of the season which follows such frost-injuries as have befallen fruit-trees in this region, modifies the disease. Some think that blight will follow without regard to the ensuing season; others suppose that a dry, and warm season will very much prevent the mischief; but that a moist and warm spring and summer, will give it a fatal development.
It is ardently to be hoped that accurate observations will be made, and upon a large scale. We presume that it need not be added that the exact truth of facts is the first step toward any sound explanation; and that our object should be to find out facts, and then, afterward, to deduce principles.
Boiling Potatoes.—Not one housekeeper out of ten knows how to boil potatoes properly. Here is an Irish method, one of the best we know. Clean wash the potatoes and leave the skin on; then bring the water to a boil and throw them in. As soon as boiled soft enough for a fork to be easily thrust through them, dash some cold water into the pot, let the potatoes remain two minutes, and then pour off the water. This done, half remove the pot-lid, and let the potatoes remain over a slow fire till the steam is evaporated; then peel and set them on the table in an open dish. Potatoes of a good kind thus cooked, will always be sweet, dry and mealy. A covered dish is bad for potatoes, as it keeps the steam in, and makes them soft and watery.
SEEDLING FRUITS.
Already the varieties of hardy fruits have become so numerous, that not only can they not all be cultivated, but the mere list of names is too bulky to be printed. Downing’s book gives a list of 181 apples. The London Horticultural Society’s Catalogue, expurgated at that, gives 900 kinds of apples, and 1,500 have been tested in the Society’s gardens. Manning’s experimental grounds and nursery at the time of his death, contained 1,000 named varieties of the pear! Swollen as is the list, there are scores annually added; many under the advice of scientific bodies; many have popular approbation; many from the partialities of some parental nurseryman; and many come in, as evil came into this world, no one can tell how.
It has become necessary, therefore, to exclude many from the catalogue, and especially necessary that none should enter without the very best passport. In the main, one set of tests will serve, both for receiving and expurgating; for no matter how long a fruit has been on the list, it should be ejected if, being out, its qualities would not gain it a fresh admission. There are no hereditary rights, or rights of occupancy, in pomological lists.