THE KAKI AND ITS RELATIVES 363 



Both cleft-grafting and whip-grafting are employed in 

 Florida. Whip-grafting is considered best if the stock-plants 

 are small. California nurserymen use the same methods and 

 make a point of placing the graft as close to the root as possible. 



Kaki trees begin bearing when three or four years old, and, 

 proper attention being given the matter of pollination, produce 

 heavy crops of fruit. Indeed, it is usually necessary in Cali- 

 fornia to thin the fruit lest the trees injure themselves by over- 

 bearing. Pollination has been discussed on a previous page. 



Picking and shipping. 



If the fruit is to be shipped to distant markets, it should be 

 gathered when fully grown but before it has begun to soften. 

 Clippers or picking-shears should be used, and the fruit must 

 be handled carefully, since it is easily bruised. Even when 

 intended for home use it is preferable to gather it. before it has 

 begun to soften, and then ripen it in a dry warm room. Fruit 

 treated in this manner is fully as good as that ripened on the 

 tree. 



Kakis should be packed for shipment as soon as picked. 

 The six-basket carrier, commonly used for peaches, is employed 

 in shipping them from Florida to northern markets. Each 

 fruit is wrapped in thin paper. 



Hume writes : 



"Some of the varieties have dark flesh, others light flesh, still 

 others a mixture of the two. The light and dark flesh differ radically 

 in texture and consistency, as well as in appearance, and when found 

 in the same fruit are never blended, but always distinct. The dark 

 flesh is never astringent, the light flesh is astringent until it softens. 

 The dark-fleshed fruit is crisp and meaty, like an apple, and is edible 

 before it matures. Some of the entirely dark-fleshed kinds improve 

 as they soften, like Hyakume and Yeddo-ichi ; others are best when 

 still hard, like Zengi. As they are good to eat before they are ripe, 

 it is not so important that the dark-fleshed kinds be allowed to reach a 

 certain stage before being offered to consumers unfamiliar with the 

 fruit. The light-fleshed kinds, and those with mixed light and dark 



