68 ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 



Summer and fall apples should be gathered 

 before quite ripe as they bruise less, and keep better. 

 Winter apples, whether for the market or home con- 

 sumption, in order to get their best results as keepers 

 should be gathered early. The practice among 

 those who only grow for home use is to allow the 

 fruit to remain on the trees about as long as it can 

 without freezing. Such fruit will not keep, even 

 when otherwise long keepers. 



Grapes of many kinds can be kept several months 

 after ripening by placing them on shallow shelves 

 in a cool cellar, so arranging them that the bunches 

 do not touch each other. Some pack them in shal- 

 low boxes filled with perfectly dry, coarse sawdust. 

 When taken out for use the sawdust that adheres is 

 removed by dipping them in water. 



Canned fruits. Whether or not we can grow 

 sufficient quantities of winter apples for the season, 

 we can always have small fruits by the easy and 

 cheap method of canning. This art is understood 

 by all the housewives. 



Cherries are improved if about one-fifth of the 

 amount of fruit is put up without removing the pits. 



Currants are improved by adding nearly one-half 

 mulberries. 



All fruits will keep as well if cooked in a kettle 

 and dipped from this into the cans, the only objection 

 to this being that the fruit is more broken and does 

 not look as well. 



There will be no danger of breaking the cans if 

 a towel is wrung from cold water and pressed 



