Ripening of Pears. 881 
to the detriment of texture. It is ordinarily con- 
sidered that the best time to pick a pear of any 
variety is just as soon as it reaches its full size 
and before it has begun to color. In most varie- 
ties, this stage is pretty well indicated by the faeil- 
ity with which the fruit stem parts from the spur. 
The pear is taken in the hollow of the hand and 
turned up; if the stem snaps off from the spur 
at its point of articulation, the fruit is generally 
considered to be ripe enough to pick. The pears 
are then ripened under eover. The best place in 
which to ripen them is a rather cool but dry room, 
like a loft or a chamber. Here they are piled upon 
the floor or upon racks, and they should not lie, 
for the best results, more than three or four pears 
deep. If they are piled too deep, the lower ones 
are likely to be indented by the weight of those 
above them. The room should be kept fairly close. 
If there is too mueh circulation of air, and if the 
temperature is high, the pears ripen too quickly, 
and often shrivel. A Bartlett pear, when properly 
picked and handled, ordinarily requires a full week 
in which to ripen up to its best quality, and the 
ripening process may often be continued consider- 
ably longer than this by picking the fruit early 
and keeping it cool.  Kieffers, especially if grown 
in the north, seem to ripen best if they are stored 
in bulk, like beans, two or three feet deep, or even 
in barrels, and the ripening process is ordinarily 
two to three weeks long. If they are given this 
long time in which to mature, the quality may be 
