The complete farmer: or, a general dictionary of husbandry ... in which everything valuable from the best writers on this subject will be extracted ... / By a society of gentlemen, members of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce.

Date:
1766
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The complete farmer: or, a general dictionary of husbandry ... in which everything valuable from the best writers on this subject will be extracted ... / By a society of gentlemen, members of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    came from Pcterfburgh, where it is affirmed to be fo tranfparent, that the kernels may be pcrteiStly fecn, when the apple is held to the light; but, in this country, it is a mealy infipid fruit, fo as not to be worth propagating. Loan’s pearmain, is a beautiful fruit to the fight, of a middling fize; the fide next the fun is of a beautiful red, and the other fide ftripcd with the fame colour; the flefh is vinous; but as it foon grows mealy, it is not greatly cfteemed. The quince-apple. This is a fmall fruit, feldom larger than the golden-pippin, but longer, and refembles th^quince in lhape, efpecially towards the ftalk; the fide next the fun is of a rufiet colour, on the other fide inclining to yellow. This is an excellent apple for about three w'eeks in September, but it will not keep much longer. . 'i'he golden-rennet is a fruit fo well know'n in Lng- land as to need no defcription. T his ripens about Mi¬ chaelmas, and for about a month is a very good fruit, cither for eating raw, or baking. The aromatic pippin is alfo a very good apple. It is about the fize of a nonpareil, but a little longer; the fide next the fun is of a bright ruffet colour ; the flefh has an aromatic flavour ; it ripens in OcStober. The Hertfordfhire pearmain, by foine called the win¬ ter pearmain. This is a good fized fruit, rather long than round, of a fine red next the fun, and firiped w'ith the fame colour on the other fide; the flefh is juicy, and flows well, but is not efleemed for eating by any nice palates. This is fit for ufe in November and December. 'I'he Kentifh pippin is a large handfome fruit, of an oblong figure; the fkin is of a pale green colour; the flefh is full of juice, which is of a quick acid flavour. This is a very good kitchen fruit, and will keep till Fe¬ bruary. The Holland pippin is larger than the former; the fruit is fomewhat longer, the fkin of a darker green, and the flefli firm and juicy. This is a very good kitchen fruit, and will keep late in the feafon. The monftrous rennet is a very large apple, of an oblong fhape, turning red towards the fun, but of a dark green on the other fide; the flefh is apt to be mealy, and is therefore not much valued by thofe that are curi¬ ous, and only preferved for the magnitude of the fruit. The embroidered apple is a pretty large fruit, fome¬ what fhaped like the pearmain; but the ftripes of red are very broad, from whence the gardeners have given it this title. It is a middling fruit, and commonly ufed as a kitchen apple, though there are many better. The royal ruffet, by fome called the leather-coat ruf¬ fet, on account of the deep ruffet colour of the fkin. This is a large fair fruit, of an oblong figure, broad to¬ wards the bafe; the flrfh is inclinable to yellow. This is one of the beft kitchen apples we have, and the trees are very great bearers ; they grow large and handfome, and the fruit is in ufe from October till April; it is alfo a pleafant fruit to eat. Wheeler’s ruffet is an apple of a middling fize, flat and round ; the ftalk is flcnder ; the fide next the fun of a light ruffet colour, the other fide inclining to a pale yel¬ low tvhen ripe; the fleflt is firm, and the juice has a quick acid flavour; but it is an excellent kitchen fruit, and will keep a long time. Pile’s niflet is not quite fo large as the former, but is of an oval figure, of a ruffet colour towards the fun, and of a dark green on the other fide. It is a very firm fruit, of a fharp acid flavour; but is much eftemed for baking, and will keep found till April or later, if w'ell preferved. The nonpareil is a fruit pretty generally known in England, though there is another apple frequently fold in the markets for it, which is what the French call haute-home. This is a larger fruit than the nonpareil, more inclining to yellow, the ruffet colour brighter, it is earlier ripe, and fooner gone. This is not fo flat as the true nonpareil, nor is the juice fo fliarp, though it is a good apple in its feafon ; but the nonpareil is feldom ripe before Chriftm.ts, and, when well preferved, will keep till May perfeaiy found. This is juftly cfteemed one of the beft apples yet known. The golden pippin is a fruit peculiar to England. There arc few countries abroad where this fucceeds well, nor do the trees produce fo good fruit in many parts of England as could be wifhed. This is in feme meafure owing to their being grafted on free flocks, which en¬ larges the fruit, but renders it Icfs valuable ; becaufe the flefh is not lb firm, nor the flavour fo quick; it is alfo apt to be dry and mealy. This fhould therefore always be grafted upon the crab-ftock, which will not canker like the others ; and though the fruit will not be fo fair to the fight, yet it will be better flavoured. Befides the above variety of apples, there are a great many more; but thefe will be fufficient to furnifh the table and kitchen during the whole feafon of fruits. And with regard to the apples chiefly preferred for mak¬ ing cyder, they will be c.numerated under that article. See Cyder. All forts of apples are propagated by grafting, or bud¬ ding upon the flocks of the fame kind, for they will not take on any other fort of fruit-tree. In the nurferies there are three forts of flocks generally ufed to graft apples upon ; the firft are called free-flocks, which are raifed from the kernels of all forts of apples indifferent¬ ly, and thefe are alfo by fome called crab-flocks ; for all thofe trees which arc produced from feeds, before they are grafted, are termed crabs, without any dif- tinilion ; but iuch flocks as are raifed from the ker¬ nels of crabs prell'ed for verjuice, Ihould be preferred. For it is very certain, that by frequent grafting fome forts of apples upon free-flocks, the fruits have been rendered larger, but lefs firm, poignant, and of fliorter duration. The fecond fort of flocks is the Dutch creeper; thefe are defigned to flint the growth of the trees, and keep them within compafs for dwarfs, or efpaliers. The third fort is the paradife apple, which is a very low fhrub, and therefore only proper for trees which are kept in pots by way of curioflty, for thefe do not con¬ tinue long. Some perfons have made ufe of codlin flocks for graft¬ ing of apples, in order to flint their growth ; but as thefe are commonly propagated by fuckers, it is not ad- vifable to ufe them. Nor are the codlin trees raifed from fuckers equal to thofe grafted upon crab flocks ; for the fruit of the latter will be firmer, laft longer, and have a Iharper flavour. The trees fo propagated will alfo laft much longer found, and never put out fuckers, as the codlins always do, which, if not conftantly taken off, will weaken the trees, and caufc them to canker ; nor is it only from their roots, but alfo from the knots of the ftems, that a great number of ftrong ftioots are produced, which fill the trees with ufelefs fhoots, and render them unflghtly, and the fruit fmall and crumpled. The method of raifing flocks from the kernels of crabs, or apples, is, to procure them where they are prefled for verjuice, or cyder ; and after they are cleared from the pulp, they may be fown upon a bed of light earth, covering them over about half an inch thick with the fame light earth ; thefe kernels may be fown in No¬ vember or December, where the ground is dry, but in wet ground it will be better to defer it till February 5 but then the feeds muft be preferved in dry fand, and kept out of the reach of vermin ; for if mice or rats can get to them, they will devour the feeds ; there fhould alfo be care taken of the feeds, when fown, to protect them from thofe vermin, by fetting traps, &c. to take them. In the fpring, when the plants begin to appear, they muft be conftantly kept clear from weeds, which, if fuffered to grow, will foon overtop the plants, and fpoil their growth ; if thefe thrive well, fome of them will be fit to tranfplant into the nurfery the October following ; for the fooner thefe feedling plants are removed from the feed bed, the lefs danger there will be of their (hooting down tap-roots, which, in fruit trees, fliould. always be prevented. The ground where thefe young flocks are to be planted, fhould be carefully digged, cleanfed from the roots of all bad weeds, and laid level ; then the flocks flrould be planted in rows three feet afunder, and the plants one foot diftant in the rows, clofing the earth pretty fart to their roots; when the flocks are tranf- 4 planted