TOMATOES 359 



poor quality, as though they ripen they are less juicy. 

 For sending in quantities to market the fruits must 

 not be over-ripe, and they should be as much as possible 

 of one size, that is carefully graded and sent in cross- 

 handled baskets with paper round the sides and over 

 the fruits, ten to twelve Ibs. weight being in a basket. 

 Later on they are sold in half sieves, bushels and flats 

 and the fruit in all cases is just below the rim of the 

 basket or flat so that pressure is avoided. Taking the 

 imported fruits into account Tomatoes are in season all 

 the year. The late full-grown fruits in autumn keep 

 a long time if stored on a cool dry shelf and gathered 

 whilst green. Soft fruits, those that bruise easily, 

 are not liked in the market, they must be firm though 

 well coloured. Open-air fruits will often be fully 

 ripe on one side and not the unexposed half. These 

 need care in marketing and well repay housing for a 

 few days till ripe. It is a good plan to go over 

 both forced and open-air fruits daily and place in 

 single layers in boxes which should be transferred to 

 a warm house but not on hot shelves as this causes 

 shrivelling. The yellow varieties are not favourites 

 in the market but for home supplies they are ex- 

 cellent in salads and of rich flavour. The small 

 unripened green fruits are useful for making into 

 pickles and are much liked when mixed with other 

 things for making Chutney. Some small Plum and 

 Currant-shaped varieties are of excellent quality and 

 make a useful addition to the salad bowl but are 

 useless for cooking. 



