450 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



abundant, will surely destroy the limb or check 

 the growth. Their first appearance, some years 

 since, with me, was upon young trees received 

 from Long Island, and my neighbor Manning 

 observed to me that the first time he found this 

 insect was upon trees he received from Flushing. 



As for lichens and moss being a benefit to a 

 fruit tree, I can hardly admit. To the eye of the 

 botanist it may be that the beauty of color, is so 

 great, particularly when united with the delicate 

 ferns, that he wishes to preserve them, the same 

 as a true lover of nature may be willing to fore- 

 go the pleasure of eating a fine pear, thus merg- 

 ing the useful in the beautiful. I cannot sub- 

 scribe to his conclusion, that "no insects which 

 harbor in the outer bark of trees, and can be re- 

 moved by scraping and washing, are really inju- 

 rious to the tree," and also that, "No tree has 

 ever been with certainty benefited by scraping 

 and washing." 



I do admit with him, that many insects which 

 are found in the rough bark are not necessarily 

 injurious to the trees, such as spiders or their 

 lar\fe, and that the rough bark is not of itself det- 

 rimental to their growth, as it is often thrown off 

 by nature ; and still, it is undoubtedly at first, as 

 he says, a protection against heat and cold. I 

 shall take another opportunity to speak of his 

 directions, &c., on the culture of our small fruits 



Salem, August, 1859. J. M. Ives. 



GATHEBIISTG AND PHESBRVINQ PEUIT. 

 BY ROXBURY RUSSETT. 



Whoever would derive large profits and prices 

 from his orchard, must be prepared to take care 

 of his fruits, as after they are grown they have 

 to be gathered and preserved ; and the better 

 this part of the work is done, the more profits 

 will be obtained. Besides, it is the preservation 

 which enables the fruit-grower to put his valuable 

 varieties in market when they are worth the most 

 money. 



The best mode of gathering as yet known is 

 by hand with the aid of self-supporting ladders, 

 and small baskets, cushioned on the inside. There 

 are various contrivances, and some of them really 

 meet all the requirements wanted, with the ex- 

 ceptions that they use up too much time. These 

 contrivances answer for amateurs, but not for 

 farmers. Every fruit taken from the tree should 

 have its stalk unbroken, it should be gathered 

 by hand, and placed in the basket, carefully and 

 lightly, not allowing it to drop, or to knock 

 against other fruit, or against any substance that 

 would bruise it in the slightest degree. The same 

 care should be taken in removing the fruit when 

 gathered to the fruit room, or place where they 

 are to be kept. They should not be removed in 

 a wagon or a wheel-barrow. They should be 

 carried in large baskets on a hand-barrow, for 

 that is the only method by which they can escape 

 a certain amount of jolting. 



The sooner winter fruits are removed to where 

 they are to be kept, after being gathered, the bet- 

 ter. The usual place of storing them is in cellars, 

 where there are no special fruit rooms provided 

 for them. If they have to be kept in barrels, 

 each barrel should be cUan and dry before the 

 fruit is put into them. Then they should be laid 



in as carefully as if they were eggs, for good keep- 

 ing winter apples are worth as much, and good 

 winter pears are worth a great deal more. , But 

 though it is the practice to put fruit in barrels 

 to keep, it is not one that can be recommended, 

 unless the fruit is about to be sent to market 

 within a short time. When in barrels also, fruit 

 cannot be inspected and watched, the decayed or 

 decaying ones removed, and good supervision 

 maintained. 



Shelves are much better, and these shelves 

 might be so arranged and divided that each sub- 

 division woidd hold the produce of a single tree. 

 By thus keeping the fruit of each tree separate, 

 there would be less danger of spoiling. Trees 

 of the same variety frequently grow fruit very 

 different in quality, and while the produce of some 

 will be scabby and wormy, the fruit of other trees 

 will be free from these defects. A range of shelves, 

 each one capable of holding from five to six bush- 

 els or two barrels, would accommodate an or- 

 chard very well. For a tree that produces two 

 barrels of choice fruit worthy of being kept over, 

 may be considered a first rate tree ; and an or- 

 chard that contains fifty of these trees is a first 

 rate paying investment. By keeping sorts sep- 

 arate, and even the growth of each tree from each 

 other, much sorting and picking will be avoided. 

 No fruit should go upon shelves that is not first 

 rate in quality. ThecuUings, which may be used 

 or sold, could be preserved either in barrels or 

 on the floor, till got rid of by sale or otherwise. 



The fruit room should be a cellar, capable of 

 being well ventilated, and made dry before the 

 fruit is placed in it, but afterwards it should be 

 kept close, dark, pnd the temperature should at 

 all times range between lio*^ and 45° Farenheit. 

 Light and heat both act on the fruit and cause it 

 to mature ; and maturity is always followed with- 

 in a short period by decay. Hence all fruit should 

 be gathered at a period before they become quite 

 ripe. The low temperature and the exclusion of 

 light delays the t me of maturity, hence the keep- 

 ing quality. 



A French writer, in the Bevne Ilorticole, also 

 claims that all the carbonic acid evolved from 

 the fruit, should, if possible, be retained in the 

 room. Hence after the fruit is put in its place, 

 the room ought not to be ventilated, as this would 

 permit this gas to escape, and also change the 

 temjjerature. The same writer also charges o'' 

 good grounds that all moisture or humidity should 

 1)6 kept out of the fruit room, as it likewise pro- 

 motes decomposition, but the air should not be 

 too dry, as then the fruit would dry up and 

 wither. 



It is calculated that a room 15 feet long, 12 

 feet wide and 9 feet high would hold shelves 

 enough for 8000 large sized winter apples or 

 pears, allowing each one to occupy an area of 

 four inches square, so that no fruit would touch 

 each other. Allowing 150 apples to a bushel, 

 would make room for about 600 bushels of apples, 

 not one of which would touch the other, or at 

 least 1200 bushels where they were piled two in 

 height. Those who have good cellars for fruit 

 will now see the advantage of them ; but we 

 should prefer a room in the orchard built under 

 the shade of the trees, in the manner of an ice- 

 house, with double walls, doors and windows. — 

 Micliigan Fanner. 



