Book I. GATHERING AND STORING ORCHARD-FRUITS. 499 



Sect. III. Of gathering and storing Orchard-fruits. 



2627. The gathering of orchard-fruits, and especially apples, from standards, should 

 be performed in such a manner as not to damage the branches, or break oft' the spurs. 

 Too frequently the fruit is allowed to drop, or they are beat and bruised by shaking the 

 tree, and using long poles, &c. Nicol directs that " they should never be allowed to 

 drop of themselves, nor should they be shaken down, but should be pulled by the 

 hand or apple-gatherer. (1347.) This may be thought too troublesome a method; but 

 every body knows that bruised fruit will not keep, nor will it bring a full price. The 

 expense of gathering, therefore, may be more than defrayed, if carefully done, by saving 

 the fruit from blemish." (Juil. 257.) 



Forsyth says, " As apples shaken or beaten down with a pole never keep in winter, they ought all to be 

 hand-picked by a person standing on steps made on purpose. The step-ladder should be light, in two 

 pieces, to disengage the back at pleasure, by drawing the bolt ; and they should have a broad step at top 

 for a man to stand on, and to place a basket by his feet. In the larger baskets or hampers, in which the 

 fruit is to be placed to be wheeled away, lay some short grass mowings, perfectly dry (which ought to be 

 provided in summer, and kept dry), to prevent the fruit from being bruised." 



2628. In respect to the time of gathering, Nicol recommends " that pears and apples 

 should not be pulled till their seeds be of a dark brown, or blackish color." The 

 criterion of ripeness, adopted by Forsyth, is their beginning to fall from the tree. He 

 says, " Observe attentively when the apples and pears are ripe ; and do not pick them 

 always at the same regular time of the year, as is the practice with many. A dry season 

 will forward the ripening of fruit, and a wet one retard it ; so that there will sometimes 

 be a month or five weeks difference in the proper time of gathering. The method that I 

 have practised is, to observe when the fruit begins to fall (I do not mean what we call 

 windfalls, or the falling of such as are infested with the caterpillar, &c, but sound 

 fruit) ; I then put my hand under it ; and if it comes off without any force being used, I 

 take it for granted that the fruit is perfectly ripe ; unless the tree be sickly, which is 

 easily known by the leaves or fruit being shrivelled. If the foregoing observations are 

 attended to, the fruit will keep well, and be plump ; and not shrivelled, as is the case 

 with all fruit that is gathered before it is ripe." 



Marshall says, " Gather pears of the summer sorts, rather before they are ripe, as when thoroughly so 

 they eat mealy, if kept above a dav or two ; even when gathered as they ought to be, in a week or less 

 they will begin to go at the core. They should not, however, be gathered while they require much force 

 to pull them off. Autumn pears must also not be full ripe at the time of gathering, though they will keep 

 longer than those of the summer. Winter pears, on the contrary, should hang as long on the trees as 

 they may, so as to escape frost, which would make them flat in flavor, and not keep well. Generally they 

 may hang to the middle of October on full standards, a week longer on dwarfs, and to the end of the 

 month on walls : but yet not after they are ripe. The art of gathering is to give them a lift, so as torpress 

 away the stalk, and if ripe they readily part from the tree. Those that will not come off easy, should hang 

 a little longer • for when they come hardly off, they will not be so fit to store, and the violence done at the 

 footstalk may injure the bud there formed for the next year's fruit. Let pears be quite dry when pulled, 

 and in handling avoid pinching the fruit, or in any way bruising it, as those which are hurt not only decay 

 themselves, but presently spread infection to those near them : when suspected to be bruised, let them 

 be carefully kept from others, and used first : as gathered lay them gently in shallow baskets." 

 — " The jargonelle pear," Forsyth observes, " keeps best on the tree, as if gathered, it rots almost 

 immediately." 



2629. With regard to keeping of orchard-fruits, the old practice, and that recommended 

 by Marshall and Forsyth, commences with sweating. Nicol, and most modern 

 gardeners, omit this process, and spread the fruit thinly on shelves, or the floor of the 

 fruit-room. As to the keeping of apples, Marshall observes, " those which continue 

 long for use should be suffered to hang late, even to November, if the frost will permit, 

 for they must be well ripened, or they will shrink. Lay them in heaps till they have 

 sweated a few days, when they must be wiped dry. Let them then lie singly, or at least 

 thinly, for about a fortnight, and be again wiped, and immediately packed in boxes and 

 hampers, lined with double or treble sheets of paper. Place them gently in, and cover 

 them close, so as to keep air out as much as possible. Preserve them from frost through 

 the winter. Never use hay for the purpose. Some of the choicest table sorts of apples 

 may be treated as directed for the best pears." 



2630. Sweating and storing winter pears. Winter pears, according to Marshall, 

 " should be laid in a dry airy room, at first thinly for a few days, and then put them in 

 heaps to sweat ; in order to which, a blanket thrown over them will help. The ferment- 

 ation must be watched, and when it seems to have passed the height of sweating, wipe 

 the fruit quite dry gently with fine flannel, or clean soft linen, and store them carefully. 

 The storing is thus : those to be used first, lay by singly on shelves, or on the floor, in a 

 dry southern room, on clean dry moss, or sweet dry straw, so as not to touch one another. 

 Some, or all the rest, having first lain a fortnight singly, and then nicely culled, are to 

 be spread on shelves, or on a dry floor. But the most superior way is, to pack in large 

 earthen, or China or stone jars, with very dry long moss at the bottom, sides, and also 

 between them, if it might be. Press a good coat of moss on the top, and then stop the 

 mouth close with cork°, or otherwise, which should be rosined round with about a 



Kk 2 



