The Bulletin. 



21 



usually causes poorly-developed, undersized specimens that never find as 

 ready a sale as do the fully matured, highly-colored fruits. As soon as 

 the "June drop" has safely passed, if the trees are heavily laden, from 

 thirty to forty per cent of the fruit should be taken off. It requires less 

 time and is much cheaper to pick it at this time than it would at the 

 harvest season. The remaining specimens will be of so much better 

 size, color and quality that it will more than pay for the expense of 

 thinning. 



Most of the profit in growing peaches depends upon the way in which 

 they are harvested and prepared for market. Work of this kind requires 

 the personal attention of the grower. The average hired labor cannot 

 be depended upon to pick and pack satisfactorily without strict oversight, 

 for this crop probably requires more careful attention than any of the 

 other fruits. The proper time at which to harvest peaches depends 

 almost entirely upon the conditions under which they are expected to be 

 used. For home and local consumption, the fruit need not be picked 

 until fully ripe; but when grown for the distant market, the time re- 

 quired to place the fruit on sale in the best condition must govern the 

 picking season. There is just the right time to pick, and this can only 

 be learned from experience. 



The same general directions relating to the harvesting of apples will 

 apply to the picking of peaches, except that the peach necessitates even 

 a more careful handling than does the apple. The natural structure of 



Fig. 10. — Peaches i.x Standard Six-basket Cabbies. 



the peach is such that it does not require to be gathered with the stem 

 on, as is the case with apples ; but it is just as necessary that each speci- 

 men be pulled by hand and carefully placed in some suitable receptacle. 

 Peaches should also be sorted into three grades before being packed. In 

 packing, it is not necessary to "face" the packages, but they should 

 always contain specimens of the same uniform grade throughout. Par- 

 ticular attention should be given to the degree of ripeness of each fruit 

 placed in the package. One or two peaches a little further advanced in 



