58 FIELD XOTES OK APPLE (JULTUKE. 



July and .August, and liooks off the wormy and ill- 

 formed apples. A drove of hogs follow him and devour 

 the apples and worms. I sl)all refer to this practice again 

 in the discussion on the codlin moth. This practice of 

 thinning fruit is a profitable one, especially in the 

 instance of such heavy bearers as the Baldwin. If the 

 tours of the orchard are frequent, the work of thinning 

 is not burdensome. 



WHEN TO PICK. 



In general, it may be said that winter apples should be 

 picked when they are ripe. Ripeness is shown by the 

 color of the apples, and by the ease with which they part 

 from the tree. When sound apples begin to fall, they 

 are ready to pick. Apples keep longer when picked before 

 they are ripe, but such apples never possess the rich flavor 

 and the crispness of fully matured fruit. Sound apples 

 do not decay until they are over-ripe. Immature fruit 

 ripens slowly during the winter, and does not soon reach 

 the period of decay. It never ripens fully, however, and it 

 is therefore always inferior. It withers and becomes tough. 



While mature fruit will decay sooner than immatnre 

 fruit, it is nevertheless much more preferable. Long- 

 keeping qualities are certainly inferior to good eating 

 qualities. Any treatment which retards the over-ripen- 

 ing of mature fruit will increase its long-keeping qualities. 

 Keeping the fruit in a cold place is the best ordinary pre- 

 ventive of decay. Fruits which are over-ripe when har- 

 vested have already entered upon the period of decompo- 

 sition, and they cannot be expected to keep long. There- 

 fore, avoid the extremes. I never knew Baldwins and 



