FRUIT STORAGE 97 



Opinion. It is evident that no general rule can be 

 given. Spy apples should be left on the trees until 

 colored if possible, even though that may keep them 

 there a month after the first frost comes. Most pears, 

 on the other hand, should be picked before fairly ripe, 

 or even while yet green, and should be put into storage 

 to ripen. Peaches and plums should be picked before 

 quite mature. Varieties of apples which drop badly, 

 like Wagener and St. Lawrence, must be picked early, 

 while those which hold on well, like Tolman and Red 

 Canada, are better left later. Practice will evidently 

 vary with variety, locality, and special circumstances. 

 Even with the same trees in the same orchard early 

 picking may be advisable one year and late picking 

 another. Weather conditions throughout the ripening 

 season, and especially at picking time, exercise a very 

 important influence. As nearly as one may make any 

 generalization for apples, it would probably be nearest 

 the truth to say that they should be left on the trees 

 as long as circumstances make it safe for them to be 

 there. For pears one might say that they should be 

 picked and stored as soon as they have attained their 

 full size and are partially colored. Plums, peaches, 

 and similar fruits should be picked as soon as feasible. 

 Grapes, like apples, should be left as late as they safely 

 may be. 



II. SYSTEMS OP STORAGE 



There are practically three systems of storage for 

 fruit, differing in the manner in which the temperature 

 is reduced. These are: (i) mechanical refrigeration, 

 (2) ice refrigeration, (3) cooling by ventilation. 



