than it generally receives. All Summer fruit should be pulled a few days before maturity, and put carefully away, either in a fruit room or closet, till it ripens. Autumn fruits should be gathered eight days before being ripe, and put away in cotton, paper, or other dry material, in the dark. They will thereby greatly improve in color and flavor, and will be in use longer. Winter fruit should hang on the tree till frost, then be carefully pulled, and put away for two weeks; when they should be wiped with a cloth, rolled up in cotton or paper, packed in boxes, or barrels of dry sand, and stored in a dry cellar or room, where they will not be severely frozen. Their flavor and color is greatly improved by this method. In the Winter season, fruit should be brought into a warm apartment a few days before using, keeping it invariably in the dark.
PLUM.
Prunùs doméstica.—Prune, Fr.—Pflaumenbaum, Ger.
There are some species of the Plum found in Asia, Europe, and America. It is an ancient fruit, held in high estimation by the Romans, who amused themselves (as history says) by grafting the Plum on the Apple. We are not surprised at these and other notions, for it is current in the present age that black Roses can be obtained by budding on Black Currant bushes. When they grow, no doubt they will be black. It is not acknowledged to be a first class, healthy fruit, though it is admitted “they will not injure strong constitutions.” When perfectly ripe, a few can be eaten to advantage, as they tend to keep the system open. The bark of the Wild Plum is used as a substitute for Peruvian Bark, in cases of intermitting fever. The fruit is considered indispensable as a conserve. Nothing of the kind can equal Green Gage jelly, and preserved Washington Plums. The following are indispensable for a good collection:
