PICKINCx AND PACKING. 57 



There is some diffcrenco of opinion among orcliardists as 

 to the distance apart which apple-trees should be planted, and 

 as to whether the lower limbs should be allowed to remain as a 

 protection to the body of the tree. We have always advised 

 planting about thirty feet apart each way ; but some plant them, 

 with good results, at twenty-five feet. We would not allow the 

 limbs to touch or lie on the ground, but would take them off, 

 from time to time, at the proper season of the year. We do not 

 believe in excessive pruning at any season, or pruning at all in 

 the late winter or early spring — a season most recommended by 

 many writers on the subject. Our own experience fully justifies 

 us in saying that of all seasons of the year June is the best. And 

 we prune our trees, if possible, during that month ; but any 

 time between the last of May and the first of October is far 

 preferable to pruning in March. Many orchards have been 

 nearly ruined, and the lives of the trees shortened, by the cut- 

 ting off of large limbs in early spring, allowing the sap to flow 

 down, the wound to canker and induce decay. The Hubbards- 

 ton Nonsuch is one of those sure to be injured, if pruned at such 

 a time. 



We cannot dismiss this subject without a few remarks con- 

 cerning the picking and packing of fruit ; for after it has been 

 raised it is of the highest importance that it should be carefully 

 gathered, properly assorted, and so sent to market as to com- 

 mand the very highest price. We would apply this remark to 

 all fruits alike, whether large or small. Too often good fruit 

 is nearly ruined by improper picking and packing, either for 

 home use or market. When apples are to be sent long dis- 

 tances they should always be placed in clean, strong barrels, 

 and pressed or screwed down so that no amount of shaking will 

 cause them to settle and become loose in the barrel. 



A word as to the keeping of winter apples, and we leave the 

 subject. Keep them cool and dry — just as cold as possible with- 

 out freezing them, and as dry as possible without shrivelling 

 them. A barn-cellar, secure from frost, is the best place to keep 

 apples. Next in importance to the apple, in Massachusetts, 

 comes the pear, though we have been surprised to find that most 

 of the pears grown in the State are raised in the vicinity of the 

 cities. One of the reasons that has heretofore operated to pre- 

 vent the general cultivation of this fruit is the impression that 

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