Page:The family kitchen gardener - containing plain and accurate descriptions of all the different species and varieties of culinary vegetables (IA familykitchengar56buis).pdf/163

 the kernel or seed, when the object is to obtain new varieties, in the same manner as the Peach. It can be perpetuated by budding, and is most permanent when grown upon the Plum stock; but in a dry, sandy soil, they will do best on their own stock. As a general rule, soil that grows the Peach will suit the Almond. See article.

.—The fruit should be allowed to remain on the tree until the rind opens and becomes quite brown, and the kernels firm and solid, when it may be gathered and gradually dried till the shell becomes hard, after which it may be stored away for use.

all the fruits cultivated in this country, the Apple is undoubtedly the most valuable. It is the fruit of the Peasant and the President, of the rich and the poor; and is suited to 346,500 square miles of the United States. At what period it became known is involved in obscurity. It is a native of several countries and peculiarly so of this; and the delightful odor of the Wild Crab of Virginia, when in bloom, is gratefully remembered by every traveler who passes that region in March and April. The tree is naturally long-lived; history asserts that it has been known to live “over a thousand years,” though we would rather ascribe to it one-fourth of that period. There is no climate in the world where the Apple is brought to such perfection as in this. It can be had in perfection throughout the year, forming always an agreeable and luxurious addition to the food of man. The fruit, when ripe, is laxative; and when boiled or roasted it has been found serviceable in cases of weakness and indigestion, as also in putrid and malignant fevers.