366 The Principles of Fruit-growing 



away; but they could not be shipped by rail. The straw- 

 berry is ordinarily picked for market when only a part of 

 the berry is really ripe, and when the organic acids are 

 still too sharp and austere for the dessert. A strawberry 

 with a green or white tip is not yet in fit condition to 

 pick, if one is expecting to reach a really good market. 



With the tree-fruits in general, the samples keep longest 

 when they are picked greenest, but they suffer thereby in 

 point of quality. There are no well-marked lines between 

 greenness or immaturity, ripeness or full maturity, and over- 

 maturity and decay. The one stage passes into the other 

 insensibly, and it is a part of the normal chemical history 

 of the fruit that it should begin an incipient breaking down 

 and disorganization of tissue as soon as the ripening pro- 

 cess is complete. It will be seen, therefore, that the 

 riper the fruit, the more nearly does it approach 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, however, this period of natural dis- 

 organization is comparatively remote. On the other hand, 

 fruits picked very green are not yet arrived at their most 

 edible stage, and unless they are kept in the most favor- 

 able conditions, they are very hkely to shrivel and to 

 become unmarketable. 



Apples. — In the case of winter apples, it is 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. Over-ripe 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 halt the 

 chemical processes, and when they are taken from storage 

 they are very likely to decay quickly. Apples picked 

 slightly green, however, usually continue to keep well 



