130 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



winter, and this may easily be done by placing them on shelves 

 in a cold, dry closet, with a thickness of wadding over them ; or 

 in not more than two layers in shallow boxes in the fruit room, 

 with a sheet of soft paper between the layers. They must be 

 sound and well ripened, and all unripe, imperfect, bruised, or 

 decayed berries must be carefully removed. Varieties with a 

 thick skin are preferable for keeping, and among these none 

 have succeeded better than the Diana. 



Although the term " preservation " can hardly be applied to 

 the ripening of summer fruit, it is so closely connected that a 

 few remarks on that subject may not be out of place. It is now 

 well known that almost all summer pears, to be eaten in perfec- 

 tion, must be ripened in the house ; the exceptions to this rule 

 are the Roussetet family, of which the Rostiezer is the only one 

 generally cultivated. The property of ripening in the house is 

 a most valuable one, for the fruit, gathered from one to two 

 weeks before it will be in use, can in the mean time be trans- 

 ported hundreds of miles to distant markets ; and the waste 

 and trouble arc far less when the whole crop is gathered at 

 once, than when it must hang to be picked as it ripens. The 

 direction commonly given for gathering summer fruit has been 

 to pick when it could be detached by merely lifting; but if we 

 follow this rule our fruit will remain on the tree too long ; it 

 should be gathered as soon as it can be perceived that its hold 

 on the branch is loosened. The flavor and color arc brought 

 out best when a considerable quantity is ripened together and 

 in darkness and exclusion from the air, and the ripening is 

 hastened by warmth and retarded by cold. The difference 

 between pears ripened in the house and on the tree is so well 

 stated by Mr. Barry, that. I quote his words : " The process of 

 ripening on the tree, which is the natural one, seems to act 

 upon the fruit for the benefit of the seed, as it tends to the 

 formation of woody fibre and farina. When the fruit is removed 

 from the tree at the very commencement of ripening, and 

 placed in a still atmosphere, the natural process seems to be 

 counteracted, and sugar and juice arc elaborated instead of fibre 

 and farina. Thus, pears that become mealy and rot at the core 

 when left on the tree to ripen, and arc pronounced worthless, 

 become juicy, melting, and delicious when ripened in the house." 

 The formation of woody fibre is especially noticeable in the 



