102 JOUKNAL OF AaRTCULTUEE OF P. E. 



Control. 



The control of this decay is based upon the fact that uninjured 

 fruit cannot be attacked by Penicillium, in contrast to Diplodia 

 which is quite capable, some moisture being present, of attacking 

 sound fruit. With the above fact in mind it will be clear that any 

 and all of the points included under the phrase, careful handling, 

 will be of importance in the operations of picking,, packing, and 

 shipping. 



In picking, clippers with rounded points are necessary to pre- 

 vent "clipper cuts," and fruit should be cut with as short stems 

 as possible. To attain this result the stems are cut long at first, and 

 then recut when the fruit is in the hand of the picker. Fruit should 

 be placed carefully in the picking sack or ])asket, not t]iro\\Ti or 

 dropped. There should be no sliarp edges, broken slats, or protrud- 

 ing nails in the field crates. Considerable care is necessary in ma- 

 nipulating ladders to avoid bruising the fruit. The wagons or carts 

 on which the fruit is hauled to the packing liouse should not be of 

 the usual springless type, and in loading and unloading the boxes 

 should be handled with all care. They should not be filled so full 

 that part of their contents protrude, since such fruit will be injured 

 by crates piled on top. 



In the packing house the careful handling must l)e continued. 

 All machinery should be arranged to cause a minimum of injury 

 to the fruit, with elimination of all sharp corners, protruding nails, 

 splinters, or other obstructions capable of breaking the rind of the 

 fruit. A very good plan is to r(Miuire ])ickers, packers, and others 

 who handle the fruit to wear cotton gloves to avoid finger-nail 

 scratches. 



One of the most important matters to be guarded against is the 

 accumulation of rotting fruit in and about the packing house. All 

 rejected fruit should be removed daily and all field crates, wagons, 

 and packing machinery should be kept clean, and those contami- 

 nated by rotting fruit dipped in some disinfecting solution. 



There are many other details in this matter of careful liandling 

 in the packing and shipping operations, all of which have been 

 treated in various other available publications to which the reader 

 is referred, in particular to Farmer's Bulletin ()9(), "Handling and 

 Shipping of Citrus Fruits." 



.VNTHRACNOSE. 



The anthracnose fungus {C'llh'h'fricli iidi (jlocosporioides) . in 



