48 FRUIT-GROWER/ ST. JOSEPH, MO. 



tion in a storage House or in a package. This plan 

 of picking before the plums are fully ripe may often 

 be resorted to with great advantage when plums are 

 retting badly. In this way a considerable portion of 

 the crop may often be saved from rot. 



Plums should be picked wHh the stems on, when- 

 ever that is possible. Many varieties, however, do 

 riot hold to the stems. In such cases the removal of 

 stems at picking time does no harm except that it 

 may injure the general appearance of the faced fruit 

 to a limited degree. 



Plums should be picked in the early morning if 

 possible, while they are cool, and should be trans- 

 ferred at once to storage or to a cool place. If they 

 are to be shipped to market they should be graded, 

 packed, and sent off as expeditiously as possible. 



A good many growers make a great mistake by 

 not grading plums. It is customary with many fruit 

 men, who are otherwise careful with such things, to 

 send plums to market just as they come from the 

 tree. Now the plum is essentially fancy fruit, and 

 requires such special attentions as are always due a 

 fancy article. Plums should not only be graded, but 

 the best ones, at least when packed in small pack- 

 ages, should be carefully faced. In some cases it is 

 even best to wrap the individual fruits in paper. 



There is no standard package for plums. Each 

 grower will choose his own package with reference 

 to the fruit he has to ship and the demands of his 

 market. The best California plums are usually sent 

 to market in a special square box of wood veneer 

 holding about two quarts. Many of the eastern 

 growers have found the common quart box used for 

 strawberries to be the most satisfactory for plums. 

 The writer has used with much satisfaction the 3-lb. 

 bail-less grape basket. The 4 -quart bail-less basket, 



