Picking Apples and Pears 367 



after being taken from cold storage. This was demon- 

 strated at the World's Fair at Chicago, at which New 

 York apples taken from cold storage remained on the 

 shelves in good condition for several weeks. 



Pears, on the other hand, nearly always lose quality 

 by ripening fully upon the tree. The cells of the fruit fill 

 with gritty mineral matter, much to the detriment of 

 texture. It is ordinarily considered that the best time to 

 pick a pear of any variety is just as soon as it reaches its 

 full size and before it has begun to color. In most varie- 

 ties, this stage is well indicated by the facility with which 

 the fruit-stem parts from the spur. The pear is taken in 

 the hollow of the hand and turned up; if the stem snaps 

 off the spur at its point of articulation, the fruit is con- 

 sidered to be ripe enough to pick. 



The pears are then ripened under cover. The best 

 place in which to ripen them is a rather cool but dry room, 

 like a loft or a chamber. Here they are piled on the floor or 

 on racks, and they should not lie, for the best results, more 

 than three or four pears deep. If they are piled too deep, 

 the lower ones are likely to be indented by the weight of 

 those above them. The room should be kept fairly close. 

 If there is too much circulation of air, and if the tempera- 

 ture is high, the pears ripen too quickly, and often shrivel. 

 A Bartlett pear, when properly picked and handled, 

 ordinarily requires a full week in which to ripen to its best 

 quality, and the ripening process may often be continued 

 considerably longer than this by picking the fruit early and 

 keeping it cool. Kieffers, especially if grown in the North, 

 seem to ripen best if they are stored in bulk, like beans, 

 two to three feet deep, or even in barrels, and the ripening 

 process is ordinarily two to three weeks long. If they are 

 given this long time in which to mature, the quality may 



