112 



PEACH CULTURE. 



18 sound and mature is pulled, and all under size, defec- 

 tive, or spotted, is rejected. Hundreds of baskets, far 

 sweeter, more wholesome, and prettier than the prema- 

 tures^ are suffered to rot under the trees, or fed to the 

 hogs. 



When the baskets are fill, they are kept under the 

 trees, to be gathered up by men with wagons or carts. 

 Many planters send them immediately to the shipping 

 depot, to be put aboard the boat or car that is to carry 

 them to the market. But this is not the best way. A 

 better plan, and the one adopted by experienced shippers, 

 is to have careful, skillful, and experienced men in suffici- 

 ent force to overhaul, and assort, and grade every basket. 

 Where this is done, the cutters are provided in the orchard 

 with stands made of loose boards laid across benches of 

 the proper height. To these stands the pickers bring 

 their baskets as soon as picked. The cullers examine 

 every peach. If it is large and without fault, it is placed 

 in one basket ; if sound and of medium size, in a second ; 

 if sound but small, in a third ; and if too ripe, spotted, or 

 otherwise defective, in a fourth. Others prefer doing 

 this at the shipping point. Three grades of marketable 

 fruit are thus prepared, and it is found by observa- 

 tion and experience that it sells for much more than the 

 same would do, if unassorted. Indeed, if two baskets of 

 mixed fruit were sent to market with two others of pre- 

 cisely similar quantity and quality, but well assorted, the 

 probability is that the prime basket of the latter class 

 would sell for as much money as both of the first. So 

 much has appearance to do with the price. In this place 

 we suggest and recommend to planters who expect to 

 ship peaches annually, to paint their baskets of three 

 different colors, to receive fruit of as many grades ; and 

 always to put the same grade in the same color. In this 

 way your consignees will be able to tell at a glance, what 



