264 HORTICULTURE FOR SCHOOLS 



fruit is quickly destroyed. The problem of the grower is 

 to see that in each stage of the handling the skin of the 

 fruit is kept whole. 



375. Picking. The precautions will differ with the vari- 

 ous fruits. Raspberries and other berries are injured by hold- 

 ing too many in the hand while picking. Even a matter 

 seemingly so trivial as the use of two fingers instead of three 

 in picking raspberries may have considerable influence on the 

 keeping quality of the fruit. Oranges and lemons are not 

 pulled or broken from the stem, but are cut with clippers which 

 have curved edges. In using these, care must be exercised to 

 see that the clippers do not injure the fruit, and at the same 

 time that the stem left is not long enough to puncture any other 

 orange which may come in contact with it. It is a common 

 practice in the case of the softer fruits to squeeze them gently 

 when picking to ascertain their ripeness. This is injurious 

 and invariably results in a considerable proportion of decayed 

 fruit. Even if the product is to be utilized immediately in the 

 cannery or drying yard, injuries of this sort should be care- 

 fully avoided. 



When in field-boxes or other containers, fruit must not be 

 heaped up so that one box will cause injury to the fruit in the 

 one below. Fruit must be laid in the picking-boxes and not 

 thrown or handled in other rough ways. Gravel and sand 

 or twigs in the picking-boxes are sources of trouble as are 

 also splinters or nails. The old rule is that fruit must be 

 handled like eggs; but this is rather an under-statement 

 as, in many cases, it must be treated very much more 

 carefully than eggs. 



376. Hauling. Care is essential also in hauling. The 

 wagon or other vehicle should be provided with springs to 

 lessen the damage by bruising. One of the best investments 

 which a fruit-growing district can make is for good roads; for 

 these reduce to a minimum the amount of injury to the fruit 

 between the orchard and the packing-house. 



