284 THE APPLE CULTURI&T. 



and pears should be handled with as much care as one han- 

 dles eggs. Apples may and frequently do fall to the 

 ground without being injured. But a person has no as- 

 surance, if an apple falls to the ground, that it will not be 

 so badly bruised as to hasten its decay in a few weeks. 

 For this reason, hand-picking should be practised in pref- 

 erence to any other mode of gathering them, if to be kept 

 for spring and summer use. When picked, lay those de- 

 signed for long keeping carefully in the basket with the 

 hand, instead of throwing them in. Winter apples should 

 not be poured from one basket to another, any sooner than 

 one would handle eggs by the rough process of pouring. 

 Winter apples should never be handled in full bags, as any 

 kind of fruit will be bruised more in a full bag than in any 

 other receptacle. Transporting apples, even from the or- 

 chard to the fruit-room, in a common wagon, either before 

 or after barrelling, is injurious ; they should be moved on 

 springs or on sleds. The least abrasion of the skin, or 

 crushing of cells of the pulp containing the juice, induces 

 fermentation and decomposition, and the consequent decay 

 of the whole mass. Most orchardists who have many win- 

 ter apples usually sustain heavy losses by the premature 

 decay of the fruit, simply because they do not manage right 

 with it. Fall apples may often be kept till winter, if plucked 

 by hand and afterwards managed with proper care. The 

 conditions for the largest and best preservation of apples 

 and potatoes differ in several respects, and in one particu- 

 lar those conditions are in direct contrast. Apples require 

 to be kept as dry as possible ; potatoes to be kept moist. 



When to pluck Winter Apples. There is a variety of 

 opinions as to the best period for gathering winter apples. 

 Still there are certain facts as to time in which all do agree, 

 one of which is, that all apples should be gathered before 

 the weather is cold enough to freeze the ground. Apples, 



