370 



Bulletin 74. 



more easily done in June or July than in September. The thin- 

 ning should be delayed until the fruit is the size of the end of 

 one's thumb, for by this time the "June drop " (see p. 383) has 

 occurred, and the peaches can be readily seen and handled. 



Marketing the fruit. — But if growers are negligent in thinning 

 the fruit, they are too often positively careless in marketing it. 

 Even in this year of low prices, fancily or nicely packed fruit has 

 brought good prices, wholly independent of its quality. The hand- 



5. Peach orchard with long trunks and round-head training. {Michigan.) 



some boxes of California peaches, containing 60 wrapped fruits, 

 have sold from $2.00 to $4-00, and yet they are generally very in- 

 ferior in quality when they reach our markets. Alongside these 

 peaches, shipped several thousand miles, our peaches have sold 

 for 25 cents to 75 cents a half bushel. 



There are several faults with our method of handling peaches. 

 The packages are too large. The fruit is not graded and selected; 

 in fact, it is not well grown. There are often no wooden cov- 

 ers on the baskets, and, as a consequence, that part of the pack- 

 age which should look the best is usually the most jammed and 

 crushed. In observing the markets this summer, I found that 

 quite half the packages were not full when they reached the sales- 



