Skin of the Fruit thickens and fowers; and it is as certain, that where Air can enter, the Froft can do the fame, and will spoil the Fruit; therefore it is more reasonable when our Grapes are full ripe, and we expect frofty Nights, to cover every Bunch with Paper, after having pick'd and 'clear'd them of the rotten Grapes; fuch Bunches may remain upon the Vine till Chriftmas, and will then eat very well.

If we cut down a Bed or two of Afparagus Haulin, at the beginning, we may expect it to Sprout again with good Buds about the middle of the next Month; but efpecially if we open the Alleys, and lay into them a little hot Dung.

I obferv'd in the Markets plenty of Melons and Cucumbers, Kidney-Beans, Onions, Schalots, Rocambole, fome Beans and Peafe, Colliflowers, Cabbages, and fine Sprouts of the forward Cabbages, Turneps, Carrots, fome forced Salary, Cabbage Lettuce, Philberts, Walnuts and Damfons, but Mushrooms, which are ufually the Produce of the latter Part of this Month, were very scarce, which Scarcenefs, I conceive, might proceed from the Wet and Coldness of the Summer Months; for when we have had a dry and hot Summer, I always have taken Notice, that as foon as the firft Rains fall upon the fcorch'd Ground, Mushrooms fpring up plentifully in fuch Places where Horfes have been grazed the fame Summer; but this Year fome Paftures, which us'd to afford great Abundance, did not produce any, although Horfes had grazed in them this Year as ufual. And I was the more diligent to fearch for them for the fake of the Earth under them, which feems to be bound together with white Cobweb-like Threads: This Earth

Earth I fought for, in order to propagate by its means fome Mushrooms in hot Beds, according to the Method us'd about Paris, where they may be had every Month in the Year.

The Weft-India Pine-Apples or Ananas continue ripening at Sir Matthew Decker's at Richmond.

To conclude this Month, which is the chief Fruit Season, I think I cannot do it more properly than by prescribing a proper Method for tranfporting of Fruit from one Place to another, fo that it fhall receive no Damage, though it pass over the most rugged Ways.

For this use we must provide a Box and as much Bran as will fill it compleatly, which Bran must be carefully dry'd before a Fire, and often turn'd in the time of drying; for if there is Moisture left in it, it will be apt to ferment by lying a few Days prefs'd together: The Fruit Thould be tenderly gather'd when the Sun has perfectly dry'd it, and laid upon dry Flannel till the Day following, when it may be pack'd up in the following manner:

Lay an Inch or two thick of Bran at the Bottom of the Box, and after it is well prefs'd down lay on your Fruit fingle, fo as not to touch each other, but leaving about an Inch Vacancy. Between the Fruit these Vacancies muft then be closely fill'd with Bran, and the Layer of Fruit cover'd with Bran about two Inches, prefs'd gently down. Upon this Place another Parcel of Fruit, ordering it as before, and Bran upon that, and fo ftratum fuper ftratum, or Layer upon Layer, till the Box is full, always having regard that the upper Layer is Bran about two Inches thick, even fo as to give great Resistance

to

to the Cover of the Box when we nail it down; for fo the Fruit will be kept tight in the Box, and cannot bruise or receive Damage by a Conveyance of three Weeks, as I have proved; fome, who are very curious, use inftead of Bran fine Wood Ashes well clear'd from every Part of the Coat, which are rather better than Bran for a long Voyage, but are not fo cafily found near London.

Remarks upon the Weather and Produce in September.

HE two laft Days of the preceding Month

TH

the Wind was easterly, with fome Showers, which continued till about the fifth Day; and then the Wind fhifted to the North West, and continued about that Quarter, with fair Weather, till the ninth; when it came about to the South West, and was follow'd with Rain; about the Weft and South West Point, it continued till the fixteenth Day, and was accompanied with Rain and brisk Gales of Wind; the Wind then shifted to North Eaft, where it held till the feventeenth, when it came about to the Weft, where it held for a Day or two, and then was unconftant, fhifting to Eaft, and fometimes touching upon the North Quarter, the Weather continuing fair till the twenty seventh, and for the most part calm; and from thence to the end of the Month, the Wind changing by the North towards the western Quarter, we had Showers and cool Air.

We

We have great Variety of Fruit this Month; that is to fay, a Continuance of all thofe forts mention'd in the preceding Month, with an additional Store of Autumn Pears, and fome of the best fort of Grapes, which in August were not forwarded enough to ripen, through the badness of the Summer; fuch as the Chianti Grape, red Mufcadine, blue Raifin, and black Mufcadine; and at Mr. Fairchild's, two new forts of extraordinary Bignefs, both in Bunch and Fruit, one of them call'd the St. Peter, the other the Hambrough. The Pine-Apples at Sir Matthew Decker's ftill continued ripening and fuch Cucumbers, as had the Advantage of running against Walls, were very fair and fit for the Table, but those upon the Ground good for little. Some blanch'd Sellery and Endive begins to come in, and fome Afparagus were cuton the natural Ground, where the Haulm had. been cut down in July. About the end, I faw fome very good Morello Cherries against a North Afpect, and I queftion not but they will remain good till the next Month.

Remarks upon the Weather and Produce in October.

THE

HE Wind for the greatest Part of this Month was wefterly, and the Weather generally fair in the Day time, but frequent Rains in the Night; towards the end we had pinching Frofts, which discharg'd the Trees of their Leaves.

VOL. II.

G g

I ob.

I obferv'd, that one Night the Froft was fo very smart, that a large Mulberry in about fix Hours drop'd all its Leaves, without changing their Colour; and though the fucceeding Frofts were fharp, yet the fallen Mulberry Leaves remain'd perfectly green above a Week. I take Notice of this, because I do not know any other Tree that fheds its Leaves fo fuddenly, or that has not its Leaves difcolour'd before they fall.

Mr. Lemery very juftly obferves, that the Mulberry is not only one of the latest Trees that opens its Buds in the Spring, but that contrary to other Trees, the Buds open all together in every Part of the Tree; the Sap of the Mulberry is very refinous, which I think is the Reafon why it is late in the Spring before it makes its Shoots, and likewife why its Leaves did not change their Colour before they fell; a very fmall Share of Cold will fix its Juices, and a greater Share of Heat, than other Trees require, is neceffary to put this refinous Sap in Mo

tion.

The fame Froft fcorch'd and dry'd the Leaves of all the forts of Fronteniac Grapes, but the other forts did not suffer.

Cucumbers lafted till the End, and fuch as were against Walls, and had run up Trees, had very fair Fruit.

Colliflowers were very plentiful, and there were fome very good Artichokes in the London Markets.

We had Kidney-Beans to the End, and in two Gardens I faw fome very good Peafe.

The Fruits were Pears, Grapes, Apples, Peaches, Wallnuts, Pomgranates, and fome Pine

Apples