44 FRUIT HARVESTING, STORING, MARKETING 



Grapes are picked when they are ready, and it takes a 

 man of experience to tell when that is. In the north- 

 ern states, however, they may be allowed to hang late 

 on the vines. In some vineyards the later varieties 

 are habitually left out several days after the frost has 

 removed most of the leaves from the vines. Thus 

 they get the late autumn sun, and ripen up with a 

 sweetness and a perfection otherwise unattainable in 

 the short northern season. 



Peaches and apricots are picked as soon as they 

 show the first traces of ripening. The well-trained 

 picker tests each fruit by taking it between his thumb 

 and fingers, and feeling of it with the ball of his 

 thumb. The fruit is not squeezed nor bruised; but if 

 it has the faintest feeling of mellowness its time has 

 come, and the picker transfers it to his basket. 



Cherries are picked just before they ripen, and the 

 best test for ripeness is to eat a few. After one gets 

 the standard fixed in his mind by this simple and 

 effective test he can tell by the color of the fruit 

 whether it is at the desired stage or not. 



Plums will bear picking when decidedly green — at 

 least, many plums will, the Japanese varieties in par- 

 ticular. If they are destined for a near-by market they 

 can be allowed to get fairly ripe, and in nearly all cases 

 they should be allowed to hang as long as possible, 

 except when they are wanted for jelly making. Most 

 of the Japanese plums and some others ripen very 

 nicely after picking, and they may be kept for three 

 or four weeks even in a moderately cool, dark place, and 

 come out ripe, juicy, and fit. In extreme cases they 

 can be kept considerably longer. Some of the native 



