58 FIELD NOTES ON APPLE CULTURE. 
July and August, and hooks off the wormy and ill- 
formed apples. A drove of hogs follow him and devour 
the applesand worms. I shall refer to this practice again, 
in the discussion on the codlin moth. This practice of 
thinning fruit is a profitable one, especially in the 
instance of such heavy bearers as the Baldwin. If the 
tours of the orchard are frequent, the work of thinning 
is not burdensome. 
WHEN TO PICK. 
In general, it may be said that winter apples should be 
picked when they are ripe. Ripeness is shown by the 
color of the apples, and by the ease with which they part 
from the tree. When sound apples begin to fall, they 
are ready to pick. Apples keep longer when picked before 
they are ripe, but such apples never possess the rich flavor 
and the crispness of fully matured fruit. Sound apples 
do not decay until they are over-ripe. Immature fruit 
ripens slowly during the winter, and does not soon reach 
the period of decay. It never ripens fully, however, and it 
is therefore always inferior. It withers and becomes tough, 
While mature fruit will decay sooner than immature 
fruit, it is nevertheless much more preferable. Long- 
keeping qualities are certainly inferior to good eating 
qualities. Any treatment which retards the over-ripen- 
ing of mature fruit will increase its long-keeping qualities. 
Keeping the fruit in a cold place is the best ordinary pre- 
ventive of decay. Fruits which are over-ripe when har- 
vested have already entered upon the period of decompo- 
sition, and they cannot be expected to keep long. There- 
fore, avoid the extremes. I never knew Baldwins and _ 
