STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 159 



careful picker seizes the stem between the thumb and fore-finger, and 

 pinching it off about half an inch from the fruit, transfers it at once to 

 the box. He will reject all that are too green, or over-ripe, or ver^' small. 

 The careless or uninslructetl picker will take hold of the berry, anil pull 

 it off, transferring it to the palm of the hand, until he has a handful. 

 The result is that the fruit is more or less bruised, and in a condition for 

 rapitl decay. The boxes should be well heaped up, and tlien carefully 

 set in the case, the top pressing gently upon the top of the berries in the 

 upper tier. Some are in the habit of turning the fruit out of the boxes 

 and assorting it. This is of doubtful value. The additional handling 

 involved probably does more damage than would be occasioned by the 

 over-ripe or imperfect beirics taken out. Certainly it is not necessary 

 when you have careful and well-managed pickers. 



Raspberries and blackberries are packed for market in the same way, 

 except that the fruit parts from the stems. The same care in handling to 

 prevent bruising is requisite. 



Peaches. — No fruit requires more careful management in its prepa- 

 ration for market, than the peach. The ilesh is exceedingly tender, easily 

 bruised, and it tends to rapid decay after it is fully ripe. They should be 

 gathered at that particular stage of maturity that immediately precedes soft- 

 ening. They should be ripe, but not mellow, and in order to secure 

 them in this condition the trees must be gone over every day. They 

 must be carefully handled to avoid bruising. The packer takes them, 

 one by one, and places them in the box, being caieful to get them as close 

 together as they can be made to lie, and the box must be so w ell filled 

 that the top will go on with considerable pressure. The object is to con- 

 fine them so closely that they can not become loose and rattle in the boxes. 

 They should be rigidly assorted, the best specimens going together, and 

 the smaller ones to themselves, to be sold as second-class fruit. The 

 tasteful packer will, of course, so arrange the fruit, with the best side 

 out, etc., as to make it present the best possible appearance when 

 opened. 



The package almost universally used in Southern Illinois, is the box, 

 holding about one-third of a bushel. Baskets are not available with our 

 present mode and means of transportation. The box composed of seven 

 pieces is the best, consisting of three heads as they are called, one broad 

 piece for each side and single pieces for the bottom and top. The box 

 made of naiTow slats shows the fruit better, l)ut the numerous edges 

 and corners are apt to abrade the skin and cut into the flesh. 



Pears. — Early pears, as well as the earliest apples, are usually sent to 

 market in the same kind of box used for peaches, and with these, the 

 essential things to be secured are proper assorting of the fruit and close 

 packing. Later in the season pears are best marketed in larger packages, 

 as bushel boxes, half barrels, or barrels. They ripen best when excluded 

 from the air, and for that reason the vessels should be close. In pack- 

 ing, the bottom of the barrel should be covered by placing the fruit care- 

 fully upon it, one at a time, so arranged as to make it show to the best 

 advantage; then pour in, shaking two or three times, briskly, as the fill- 



