THE ORCHARD. 77 



being gathered before they ripen, keep some months in the 

 fruit-room ; but when they become ripe must be consumed 

 rather rapidly, because they decay soon after they are ripe. 

 In growing fruit, therefore, all these things ought to be con- 

 sidered while we are settling in our minds the proportion we 

 should grow of each sort, always bearing in mind that the 

 less a fruit will bear keeping, the less we ought to grow, and 

 vice versd. 



The Fruit-Eoom. — Connected with the orchard is, or ought 

 to be, the fruit-room. This should be as cool as j)ossible, and 

 as close as possible, free from damj) and draught, and capable 

 of being thoroughly protected from frost. The shelves should 

 be open bars, and on the edges projDer ledges four inches high, 

 to prevent any from rolling off. On these shelves should be 

 evenly spread clean straw, an inch in thickness ; and on this 

 straw may the fruit be laid, the more delicate sorts singly ; 

 the robust may be one on another, and even heaped as high 

 as they will lay well. Many pack fruit in barrels and boxes, 

 some in sand, some in bran ; but we have been quite satisfied 

 w^ith the degree of keeping that we could secure on the shelves 

 we have described. Fruit should be gathered when thoroughly 

 dry, and carefully laid in the basket into which it is gathered. 

 Letting them fall into the basket, or thromng them in, is too 

 frequently practised ; but wherever there is a bruise, the decay 

 will begin, and seasons very often get blamed for decay which 

 originates in careless gathering. When they have been placed 

 in the fruit-room a few days, they will have become quite wet, 

 they should then be wij)ed dry, and be replaced. We have 

 never found much inconvenience in this mode of preserving 

 fruit ; and if there be abundance of shelves, it is quite impos- 

 sible to improve upon it for being convenient and easy of 

 reference, because all the fruit may be in sight at once. The 

 best time to gather apples and pears of the keeping kinds is, 

 when the pips have begun to tinge with colour. If gathered 

 before this, the fruit will not attain its proper flavour ; if after 

 this, they will not keep so long. It is therefore requisite that, 

 when we think a crop is ready, we should open one, to see 

 if the pips have begun to tinge with yellow or brown, as if 

 commencing their ripening. If they have, gather in the 

 middle of the day, as soon as you can, and store them, placing 

 all the sorts that do not keep long in the partitions handy for 

 frequent examination ; and those which \vill keep, in the mosi 



