130 HORTICULTURE LECT. ix 



gardeners to exhibit dishes of fruit in good condition 

 as late as November. 



Gathering Large Fruits. To gather Apples and 

 Pears at the proper time requires some knowledge of 

 the varieties. It is a great mistake to gather them 

 before they are fully developed, as in that case they 

 shrivel instead of ripening. A tolerably safe guide 

 in this matter is to cut open an average fruit and 

 note the colour of the pips or seeds. When the fruit 

 is ripe these are of a reddish-brown colour, but until 

 ripening commences they are nearly white. The pips 

 of apples should have nearly completed this change 

 of colour before the fruit is gathered. It ought to 

 come off the tree easily without any twisting. Pears 

 may be gathered soon after the change commences. 



Care ought always to be exercised to avoid bruising 

 fruit in gathering. This is often unwittingly and 

 thoughtlessly done in grasping too many at once. 

 Two fruits are held whilst a third is grasped ; the 

 pressure of this against the others bruises all three. 

 Also in placing them in the basket, it seems almost 

 needless to say that they ought not to be thrown in, 

 but this is too frequently done, and is the best way 

 to spoil fruit. 



Care must also be exercised in pulling the fruits, 

 not to bring away the buds at the base of the stalks. 

 To obviate this, take the fruit in the palm of the 

 hand, placing the thumb and forefinger around its 

 stalk, with the thumb-nail pressing slightly against 

 the point where separation should take place ; then 

 slightly raise the fruit, and it will part as freely as 

 desired, if sufficiently ripe for gathering. If separa- 

 tion is not easy, the gathering should be delayed. 



Packing. For sending apples, pears, and plums 

 into market, nothing has yet been invented at home 

 which supersedes the ordinary market baskets, known 



