380 The Principles of Fruit -growing. 



tion of tissue as soon as the ripening process is 

 thoroughly complete. It will be seen, therefore, that 

 the riper the fruit, the more nearly it approaches 

 this period of disorganization, and the sooner the 

 breaking down of the tissues may be expected to 

 begin. When the fruit is picked very green, how- 

 ever, this period of natural disorganization is com- 

 paratively remote. On the other hand, fruits which 

 are picked very green are not yet arrived at their 

 most edible stage, and unless they are kept in the 

 most favorable conditions, they are very likely to 

 shrivel and to become unmarketable. 



In the case of apples, it is generally best to 

 pick them, if they are to be stored or exported, 

 just as they have arrived at their full size and 

 when they have attained only a part of their full 

 color. Overripe or fully ripe fruits must be sent 

 to the market at once, or else they must be kept 

 in artificial cold storage in order to thoroughly stop 

 the chemical processes within the fruit, and when 

 they are taken from storage they are very likely to 

 soon decay. Apples which are picked slightly green, 

 however, generally continue to keep well after being 

 taken from cold storage. This was demonstrated at 

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

 apples taken from cold storage remained upon the 

 shelves in good condition for several weeks.* 



Pears, on the other hand, nearly always lose 

 quality by fully ripening upon the tree. The cells 

 of the fruit fill up with gritty mineral matter, much 



* Annals Hort. for 1893, 67. 



