92 TOMATO CULTURE 



by the time it reaches its destination and is exposed 

 for sale. When the fruit is to be shipped any dis- 

 tance the field should be gone over frequently, as 

 often as every second or third day or even every day 

 in the hight of the season, and care taken to pick 

 every fruit as soon as it is in proper condition. When 

 it is to be sold in nearby markets or to a cannery the 

 exact stage of maturity, when picked, is not so im- 

 portant, although it is always an advantage not to 

 gather until the fruit is well colored and before it 

 begins to soften. Some growers for canneries make 

 but three or four pickings, but in this case it is well 

 to gather the ripest fruit separately. 



In picking and handling great care should be taken 

 not to mar or bruise the fruit, and the stems should 

 be removed as the fruit is picked to prevent bruising 

 in handling. A bruise or mar may not be as conspic- 

 uous in a tomato as in a peach, but it is quite as 

 injurious. It is a great deal better for pickers to use 

 light pails rather than baskets, the flexibility of the 

 latter often resulting in bruises. It is an advantage 

 to have enough of these so that the sorting can be 

 from the pail, but if this is not practical the fruit 

 should be carefully emptied on a sorting table for 

 grading. It should first of all be separated with re- 

 gard to its maturity. A single fruit which is a little 

 riper or greener than the remainder may make the en- 

 tire package unsalable. It should also be graded as to 

 freedom from blemishes or cracks, and as to size, 

 form and color. It is assumed that the fruit for each 

 package is to be of the same variety, but often there 

 is quite a variation in different fruits from even the 



