MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 343 



PLUMS. 



Pick when not quite ripe, when changing color if for express ship- 

 ment; if for freight, pick green, though they must be ful'y grown. 

 Let no soft plums go in. Pack in berry boxes or four basket crates if 

 quite ripe; if hard, pack in one-third bushel boxes. Handle plums so 

 as to prevent their bloom, Fancy varieties will pay to wrap in paper 

 like the California plums. Wild Goose plums may be shaken from 

 trees on sheets. 



RASPBERRIES. 



Handle same as strawberries, except they should be fully ripe 

 when picked and need not be graded. Pick as soon as they will slip 

 from the stem. They must be handled more quickly than strawberries 

 as they mold easily. The red raspberries do not stand long shipments, 

 but are such a prime favorite with all lovers of fruit that it pays to get 

 them to market when possible. In picking them, give berries a roll 

 between thumb and finger instead of pinching them. A good picking 

 device for raspberries is s tin box attached to a waist belt, into which 

 the berry box is set. It has a hinged cover with funnel staped hole 

 to admit berries; this prevents waste and leaves both hands free to 

 pick. 



BLACKBERHIES. 



Blackberries will stand shipping longer distances (picked when 

 just ripe) than other berries, as they are less likely to mold or decay. 

 Handle about the same as other berries. 



PEACHES. 



Pick just when they have a good color and the green becomes 

 yellowish, while still bard. Use half-bushel picking-baskets and take 

 great care not to bruise the fruit. Don't empty the picking-baskets; 

 pack from them. Pickers should pick, and packers should pack. 

 Young men make the best pickers, working by the day. Women and 

 girls make the best packers. Grade carefully, using a board with holes 

 in to guage sizes. Rigidly reject ail over-ripe or blemished fruit ; make 

 three grades — extra. No. I and Xo. 2. Wrap the extras in tissue paper 

 and pack in trays, 16x16 inches, three inches deep, holding one teir 

 each, held together by strips nailed on sides, with cover on top tray. 

 No. 1 peaches may be shipped in one-third bushel boxes, or four and 

 six basket crates. In packing boxes set them on edge, not flat, and 

 lay the peaches in rows along the sides with the stem ends inward, 

 filling in the center carefully; if packed thus, unbroken rows of well 



