258 Fruit-growing in Arid Regions 



ready to pick. This is not a varietal characteristic, either, 

 for we have seen the standard winter varieties with the 

 seeds brown the first of September, and many are not 

 picked until the middle of October. Allowing the ground 

 to become dry in midsummer seems to color the seeds 

 prematurely, yet the fruit will improve in color and size 

 when the needed moisture is supplied. Other conditions 

 may also have their influence on the coloring of the seed. 

 Many of the early varieties are picked before the seeds 

 show any color. But in most cases the color of the seed, 

 in connection with other characters indicating maturity, 

 is worthy of consideration. 



About as much reliance can be placed on the color of the 

 fruit as any other one character. Well-colored fruit is 

 desired by the market, a factor which must be catered to, 

 and, within the bounds of reason, picking should be de- 

 layed until the required color is attained. Yet we find 

 cases in which it is out of the question so to delay the pick- 

 ing; and, again, as the average grower understands color, 

 some varieties show no colors that would indicate to him 

 that the fruit is ready to be picked. In waiting for color 

 one may run the risk of serious loss from wind or early 

 freezes. Fruit matures better on some soils than on others, 

 so that color cannot be considered a uniform character. 



The ease with which the fruit separates from the spur 

 is one factor that often determines the season of picking. 

 One cannot afford to wait for color in seeds or fruit after 

 the stem loses its firm grip on the spur. The writers 

 have known cases in which 75 per cent of a crop of 

 fancy fruit has been sold as wind-falls, and merely because 

 the grower was waiting for color, regardless of the con- 



