02 FIELD XOTES OX APPLE CULTURE. 



Great puius must be taken in the sorting. Few people 

 are aware of wbat constitutes a first-class apple. 8ueli 

 an apple must not be immature, over-ripe, wormy, or 

 otherwise injured in any part, scabby or bruised. Very 

 small apples from the interior of the tree are usually im- 

 mature. Large and highly colored apples are apt to be 

 wormy, over-ripe, or of poor quality. With some ex])eri- 

 ence, one can be able to tell a first-class apple by its feel- 

 ing. First-class apples should not have their stems pulled 

 out. Second-class winter apples can be put npon the 

 market at once for immediate consumption. 



Winter ajjples should be picked in cool weather, and 

 they should be handled on the shady side of the tree. A 

 detached ajjple will ripen very rapidly in the warm sun, 

 and its keeping qualities will be impaired. In order to 

 keep apples, bear in mind the fact that they must be 

 kept cool. If one has not a good apple cellar, he should 

 store them in a shed until eold weather, or in any cool 

 building which has windows opening to the northward 

 and none to the southward ; in short, put them anywhere 

 where they will keep cool. If the apples begin to assume 

 a yellowish cast, they are getting too ripe. An atmos- 

 phere may be too dry, but a decidedly moist one is equally 

 dangerous. Some cellars keep apples Avell, but most of 

 them do not. The fruit cellar should be deep, cool, 

 clean, well ventilated, and should have a northern expos- 

 ure. A cellar which is stoned up in a gravelly soil, with 

 a brick or gravel floor, should keep apples well. Keep 

 the north windows open until there is danger of freez- 

 ing. Shut them up on wet days. Water will freeze 

 before apples will. If a person has a good cellar for 



