568 
fruit that is slightly ribbed is necessarily in- 
ferior to that which is round and smooth. It 
is all a question of pulp, this being most plen- 
tiful in well-set fruit. 
too much core in them. 
fruit are produced under glass, those ripening 
in June and July being excellent. When fully 
coloured, or a little earlier if the fruit is com- 
mencing to crack, it may be gathered, to be 
ripening in paper-lined boxes in a warm dry 
room rather than exposed on shelves to the 
roasting effects of direct sunshine and heat. The 
larger fruit should go to the kitchen, the salad- 
maker having the choice of medium-sized, well- 
ripened, red or yellow fruit. Tomatoes pro- 
duced in the open air may be ripened in boxes 
as advised for house-grown fruit. Not a green 
fruit should be wasted, as these mixed with 
Onions, hot spices, and vinegar form a most 
admirable pickle. 
Tomatoes, although not easily bruised, ought 
to be packed carefully. If sent in small quan- 
tities in boxes, they should be wrapped sepa- 
rately in soft paper and packed closely in soft 
wood-wool, not more than two layers going into 
a box. The fruit ought to be coloured but quite 
firm when packed, fully ripe fruit turning out, 
after a long journey, soft and _ flavourless. 
Market growers pack most of their Tomatoes | 
in either cross-handled baskets, holding about 
twelve pounds of fruit, or in narrow-necked 
quarter-sieves. These are lined with packing- 
paper, with long ends overlapping the sides. No 
other packing-material is used, the fruit, well- 
coloured, firm and carefully graded, being packed 
closely in layers till within 1 inch of the rim, or 
the proper weight is put in, when the loose ends 
of paper are folded over the fruit and this kept 
down by stringing over. Few complaints of 
bad packing or rough handling are heard of. 
The baskets having handles, there is no excuse 
for rough handling, and further, the baskets 
not being full up to the rims, they can be 
stacked one above another safely enough in the 
luggage-vans of passenger trains. It is not 
found that the fruit travels any better in 
handled baskets with movable lids, the latter 
only adding to the expense and worries of both 
packers and buyers. The quality and weight of 
fruit contained is stated in or on each basket. 
The open-air Tomatoes, when produced in 
extra large quantities, are often sold by the 
bushel, and packed in flats and sieves much as 
Apples are. 
Turnips.— Unless quickly grown Turnips 
Very solid fruit have | 
The best-flavoured | 
THE GARDENER’S ASSISTANT. 
are liable to be hot and stringy, and they de- 
teriorate rapidly in hot weather. This can be 
prevented for a few days by storing in a damp 
dark shed, but they are never so good as when 
newly drawn from the open ground, so that it 
behoves the cultivator to make frequent small 
sowings rather than rely upon fewer large 
sowings, the aim being to keep up a supply of 
roots rather smaller than a cricket-ball. Prior 
to packing, trim off coarse root-thongs, if any, 
and much of the foliage, and place them in the 
bottom of the hamper. For the markets the ear- 
lier Turnips are bunched, from twenty to twenty- 
five roots going to the bunch. When much more 
plentiful, this being in the autumn and winter, 
the roots are topped and tailed moderately hard, 
and consigned in bags, Potato-fashion. 
In some localities Turnips are liable to be 
destroyed by frost, and in all such cases the 
precaution should be taken of storing at least 
a portion of the late sown or main crops. Early 
in November the roots ought to be pulled, their 
tops cut off closely, and stored in a heap, cover- 
ing with straw and soil as advised for Potatoes. 
Early in the year the heap should be turned and 
all growing shoots removed. 
Vegetable Marrow.—As a rule the fruit 
is left too long on the plants. Cut when about 
6 inches long, cooked and served exactly as 
grown, there being no skin or seeds to reckon 
with, this excellent vegetable will be found 
more like Vegetable Marrow than is the case 
when large fruit are cut, pared, quartered, and 
boiled. This plan of early cutting also possesses 
the merit of favouring the production of a far 
greater continuous crop than is the case when 
the plants have to bear the strain of forming 
large fruit and maturing seeds. Vegetable Mar- 
rows keep fresh for several days stored with 
their foot-stalks in a pan of water placed in a 
cool dark shed. Quite young fruit ought to be 
packed similarly to Cucumbers, but the more 
fully grown fruit stand rougher treatment. 
Market growers have to adapt their practices 
to meet the needs of their own particular dis- 
tricts or markets. In some towns very large 
Vegetable Marrows meet with most favour, in 
others the younger fruit is preferred. They 
are packed in flat pads and crates. 
Water Cress.—The best produce is ob- 
tained from young plants in fresh soil over — 
which 3 inches of clear water flows. The shoots 
should be cut over every week during the season, 
with a view to maintaining a supply of tender 
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