380 The Principles of Frwit-growing. 
tion of tissue as soon as the ripening process is 
thoroughly complete. It will be seen, therefore, that 
the riper the fruit, the more nearly it approaches 
this period of disorganization, and the sooner the 
breaking down of the tissues may be expected to 
begin. When the fruit is picked very green, how- 
ever, this period of natural disorganization is com- 
paratively remote. On the other hand, fruits which 
are picked very green are not yet arrived at their 
most edible stage, and unless they are kept in the 
most favorable conditions, they are very likely to 
shrivel and to become unmarketable. 
In the case of apples, it is generally best to 
pick them, if they are to be stored or exported, 
just as they have arrived at their full size and 
when they have attained only a part of their full 
color. Overripe or fully ripe fruits must be sent 
to the market at once, or else they must be kept 
in artificial cold storage in order to thoroughly stop 
the chemical processes within the fruit, and when 
they are taken from storage they are very likely to 
soon decay. Apples which are picked slightly green, 
however, generally continue to keep well after being 
taken from cold storage. This was demonstrated at 
the World’s Fair at Chicago, at which New York 
apples taken from cold storage remained upon the 
shelves in good condition for several weeks.* 
Pears, on the other hand, nearly always lose 
quality by fully ripening upon the tree. The cells 
of the fruit fill up with gritty mineral matter, much 
* Annals Hort. for 1893, 67, 
