with yellow or green flesh should be picked just as they are turn- 

 ing colour; they must on no account be picked too green. If they 

 are sour to the taste they are most certainly too green; on the 

 other hand, it is best to pick the red fleshed plums when they are 

 ripe. If this variety is picked too green it will not ripen up, and 

 is inclined to develop a bitter taste. 



Pears. This class of fruit also varies considerably as to the 

 correct stage at which to pick it. Amongst our most popular 

 export varieties some such as Clapp's Favourite, Bon Chretien 

 and Louise Bonne should be picked quite on the green side. 

 The best time to pick them is when they have grown to the re- 

 quisite size, the Bon Chretien especially so, for if it is allowed 

 to get to the stage when it shows colour the cold storage will not 

 check its ripening enough, and it will assuredly arrive on the 

 market in an unsaleable, if not rotten, condition. On the other 

 hand, such varieties as the Beurre Hardy, Beurre Bosc Doyenne 

 du Cornice and Winter Nelis must not be picked on the green 

 side; if they are they will certainly shrivel. The best stage of 

 ripeness for these varieties is just as they begin to show colour 

 near the stalk. 



On no account should fruit with broken stalks be packed; 

 these ripen up very rapidly, and will arrive in a rotten condition. 



Pears should be handled very carefully, as although they 

 appear a very hard fruit they are not, and will bruise very quick- 

 ly, although the bruise may not show up for a couple of days. 



Grapes. This class of fruit is more affected by the situa- 

 tion in which it is grown, and by the climatic conditions, than 

 any other fruit exported. 



To get the best results all vines should be grown on trellises. 



All grapes intended for export should be thinned whilst they 

 are growing. The best time to do the thinning is as soon after 

 the grapes have blossomed as possible; they should be thinned 

 out in such a way that when the berries have grown out, the 

 bunches should be so loose that every individual berry can be 

 examined if necessary. In a dense growing variety like the 

 Hermitage at least 60 per cent, of the berries should be taken off. 

 If the vines are bearing very heavily it is very advisable to also 

 thin out the bunches. Bunches should never be allowed to touch 

 each other whilst growing. 



Grapes should be thoroughly ripe .before they are picked ; 

 they never ripen further after they are picked. Green grapes 

 will not carry, and invariably go wasty. 



Grapes should be picked into shallow trays. They should 

 then be carefully gone through and all small, shrivelled, over- 

 ripe and burst and blemished berries and straggly ends removed. 



