Wi7iter Meeting. 215 



And now we come to the time of most interest to the cherry 

 grower — the gathering and marketing, in which, especially the latter, I 

 have had but little experience, as my orchard is just beginning to bear. 

 But as I have given some thought and attention to this part of it, and 

 have read everything on the subject I could find so as to know what to 

 do when I get a crop, I will give an outline of my gleanings from 

 others. 



The cherry should not be gathered until fully ripe and then only 

 when it is dry, as, if it is gathered when wet or even damp from rain or 

 dew, it will quickly spoil. In all cases the fruit should be carefully 

 handled, and the stem should be left attached to the fruit as the re- 

 moval of the stem from the fruit will break the skin, allow the juice 

 to run out and quickly injure the fruit. All defective berries should 

 be throwTi out as they will injure the sale of the remaining fruit, and 

 at this time it pays to pack only the best fruit and to put it up in a 

 manner that will be attractive, as there is about as much in the pack- 

 ing of the fruit toward selling it as in the fruit itself, perhaps more. 

 Cherries should be packed in small shallow boxes or baskets which in 

 no case should hold over one gallon, and handled so that they will not 

 bruise or mash. As to the marketing of cherries awav from home, all 

 the questions of freight charges, commissions, and commission men, and 

 of markets applicable to other fruits apply to cherries. I have given 

 this but little thought for the reason that our home market has never 

 been half supplied with cherries and I believe that it will be many 

 vears before I shall have to go awav from home to find a market for 

 mv cherries. 



WILL IT PAY TO PLAT^TT CHERRIES ¥N MISSOURI? 



By G. W. Llopkins, Springfield, Mo. 



With the record of the past few years of fruit failures in Mis- 

 souri staring me in the face, and the unknown possibilities of the 

 future before me, it is with some degree of reluctance that I shall at- 

 tempt to say what fruit will pay. The cherry has as yet been planted 



