16 



BULLETIN 688; U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



In some of the shipments there was included a quart of cherries 

 which had been picked without the stems. In such cases, although 

 there was scarcely any damage to the cherries picked with the stems, 

 from 25 to 90 per cent of the chenies picked without the stems were 

 danaaged. A comparison of cherries shipped with stems and without 

 stems is shown in figure 10. 



Cherries from which the stems have been removed begin to decay 

 quickly, as the removal of the stem causes a wound in the flesh of the 

 fruit, which allows the entrance of fungi, which cause cherries to 

 mold or decay. Growers should exercise care in picking and packing 



Fig. 10. — Cherries shipped with stems and without stems. The fruit m tlie l^asket on tlie left was pici-ed 

 and shipped with the stems and was received in good condition. That in the hasket on the right was 

 shipped with the stems removed. About 90 per cent of the cherries showed signs of decay where the 

 flesh of the fruit had been injured by the removal of the stems. 



cherries so that the skin of the fruit wiU be unbroken, otherwise they 

 will reach the consumer in poor condition. 



Cherries that are to be shipped by parcel post should be picked by 

 grasping the stem and not the cherry, and many cherries should not 

 be held in the hand at one time, as this will crush or bruise the fruit 

 and allow the entrance of fungi, which will cause decay or mold. 

 Care should be Exercised in emptying the cherries from the vessel in 

 which they are picked into the shipping container so as to avoid 

 injury to the fruit. 



For shipping cherries by parcel post, a ventilated crate such as is 

 recommended for shipping strawberries by parcel post, should be 

 used. The shipping weight of cherries is about the same as that of 



