264 [ THE APPLE TREE 



putting the fruit in bags, as in the case of the pear, is 

 dispensed with, and the sun is allowed to act on the 

 fruit and to develop its beautiful colours unhindered. 



The summer and autumn apples if allowed to attain 

 full maturity on the tree become floury and almost 

 tasteless and keep very badly, and therefore they should 

 be picked and forwarded to market or put into the fruit 

 room as soon as they begin to turn mellow, or in the 

 case of the red and green apples as soon as the colour 

 becomes brighter. When the fruit has reached this 

 stage it is also easily blown down by the first lively 

 breeze, and this is another reason why harvesting should 

 be anticipated by a few days.- It is noteworthy, however, 

 that unlike the pear, the fruits of the apple usually 

 mature irregularly, so that when the first fruits are 

 picked the last fruits may have to remain on the 

 tree sometimes for three or four weeks. This 

 peculiarity far from being a drawback is of great 

 advantage to the grower who has time to dispose 

 of his fruit gradually to meet the requirements of 

 the market without causing a glut. The winter apples 

 should be allowed to remain on the tree until the end 

 of October, and then they may be picked and stored on 

 the shelves of the fruit room, disposing them as close 

 together as possible without touching each other, and on 

 no account should they be deprived of their natural 

 bloom. The custom of cleaning or rubbing the apples 

 to show their beautiful lustre to the best advantage, 

 though always reprehensible, should be left to the fruit- 

 seller in his stall, who is anxious to make his fruit 

 attractive to the purchaser and to sell at once, without 

 minding much whether the keeping quality of the fruit 

 has been impaired by this attention. 



Perhaps there is no fruit which lends itself so easily 

 for cold storage as the apple, and this practice is now 

 resorted to very extensively in the large apple growing 

 countries, particularly in North America There are 



