66 STATE rOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



had their origin, thai are proving valuable wherever they have 

 been disseminated and grown. 



Care is the[ price that must be paid for the best of all agricul- 

 tural or horticultural products. And care in gathering and barrel- 

 ing fruit for storing and keeping is of the utmost importance. In 

 fact how often is fruit gathered in a manner as would seem as if 

 the chief end to be desired would be to promote decay as rapidly 

 as possible. If apples are expected to keep well they must be 

 picked from the trees and handled carefully. 



Barrels are found the most convenient package for apples, but 

 should be washed and thoroughly cleansed and dried before using ; 

 care should be taken that no nails protrude through the staves. 

 The fruit should be carefully placed in the barrels and gently 

 shaken and pressed into them as compactly as possible to prevent 

 any motion of the fruit after the barrels are headed. Each sort 

 should be marked and placed where the temperature is low and 

 uniform if possible. If apples are to be stored for winter or late 

 keeping the sooner they are placed in a cool and uniform place the 

 better. A fruit house or cellar constructed with a view for the 

 purpose is best, but most growers usually have to resort to their 

 cellars. 



The chief requisites for the preservation of fruits from October to 

 May or June following are a uniform low temperature and in autumn 

 may be obtained by giving ab indant ventilation on cool nights, 

 and be closed when the atmosphere is warm. Fruit should be main- 

 tained or kept in as nearly as possible in the condition when gath- 

 ered. The gradual ripening process or the fermentation of the 

 juices, premonitory to decay, should be checked and kept in a dor- 

 mant condition, when maintained nearly at the freezing point the 

 mellowing or ripening process in the fruit nearly ceases. Fungi 

 and mildew, the primary cause of decay, do not germinate. Under 

 these circumstances, the best late keeping results are promoted, 

 thereby the prices which apples are sold differ very materially 

 between October and June and are often as one to five, thus the 

 growing price in the cellar is of full as much importance as the 

 growing fruit in the orchard. 



New England is also favored with a variety of soils which is 

 found favorable to the growth of the apple. Experience also 

 teaches that one kind of soil is not adapted to the growth of all 

 kinds of apples. Some thrive best in a loamy soil, some in sandy, 

 others in a gravelly or clay. Keeping" these things in view, it is 



