6 The Bulletin. 



becoming fully ripe by the time they reach their destination and are 

 exposed for sale. It would be impossible to give exact rules for deter- 

 mining the best time to harvest any farm produce. This can best be 

 learned by personal experience, guided by the ripening habit of the 

 different crops grown. These habits vary somewhat in different locali- 

 ties and with different varieties. Produce for the nearby market need 

 not be picked until almost ripe, but for long-distance shipment it must 

 be harvested earlier. A great many growers make the mistake of allow- 

 ing their fruit and vegetables to become too ripe before picking, and as 

 a result the products that look so fresh and attractive when starting 

 reach their destination in a state of overripeness and of probable decay. 

 For this reason it pays the grower, when the harvesting season draws 

 near, to carefully consider the distance to his market. 



Fruits and vegetables intended for sale in fresh condition, either on 

 the home or distant market, should be picked by hand, thus eliminating 

 to a great extent the bruises that result from careless and rapid gather- 

 ing. Bruised fruits soon become decayed and start decay in other fruits 

 with which they come in contact in the package. "When this condition 

 develops, the attractiveness, cleanliness and uniformity of the products 

 are destroyed and their value decreased accordingly. Various mechan- 

 ical devices have been invented for the harvesting of fruits and vege- 

 tables, but for the most part they have not been found very desirable or 

 satisfactory except where the produce is used for canning or preserving 

 purposes. 



Ordinarily, vegetables are first picked into baskets or other easily 

 handled receptacles, holding from onp-half to a bushel, and are then 

 carried from the field to the packing shed where they are graded and 

 packed ready for marketing. Small fruits and berries are usually picked 

 into pint or quart baskets or boxes and are carried to the packers on 

 trays holding from six to twelve baskets. Tree fruits are either picked 

 into baskets or medium-size sacks arranged to suit the convenience of 

 the picker and at the same time providing against probable damage 

 from bruising. The fruit is picked either from the ground or from 

 step-ladders or other light ladders that can be carefully laid against the 

 limbs or branches of the trees. In some localities the common practice 

 in harvesting this kind of fruit is to either shake it onto the ground or 

 onto beds of straw placed around the trees, or else to beat and knock it 

 off with poles and clubs. Fruits handled in this manner had best be 

 kept at home, for if sent to market it is very doubtful if they would 

 sell for enough to pay for packages and the cost of transportation. The 

 one main point to be observed in the picking of any fruit or vegetable, 

 whether for home or distant market, is to avoid as far as possible the 

 making of any bruise or injury to the skin. 



GRADING. 



Probably the most important operation in preparing fruit and vege- 

 tables for market is the grading. This work can best be started in the 

 field with the growing of the crops. Careful cultivation means fewer 

 culls and less expense for sorting and grading. Uniformity is the chief 

 requirement to be considered in this operation. Growers should attempt 

 to handle and market their crops so that they will be uniform in quality,. 



