September, 1907 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



61 



proper conditions are given, the longest- 

 keeping varieties will decay so quickly as to 

 prove a disappointment. Hence the neces- 

 sity for proper conditions. A furnace-heated 

 cellar, or one naturally warm, is a very poor 

 place. A low temperature, so long as it 

 doesn't get below the freezing point, is best. 



A moderately damp cellar is favorable 

 to keeping the fruit in good condition. One 

 of the best keeping cellars I ever saw con- 

 tained a spring, the, water from which flowed 

 along two sides before reaching its outlet. 



Fruit houses with double walls and doors, 

 well insulated, are often used, but one needs 

 to have a considerable quantity of fruit to 

 afford these. I have seen apples headed 

 up in close barrels, which were piled on the 

 north side of a building, protected from the 

 sun, and left till severe freezing weather when 

 they were put in the cellar. Apples treated 

 thus will keep longer than if put in the cellar 

 immediately after picking. If buried in pits 

 they will come out in good condition the 

 next spring. 



Cold storage has been considered by many 

 as out of the question on the farm. But I 

 believe the time is coming when it will be 

 more largely used. In a Massachusetts farm 

 house, I saw a room like a large pantry, 

 fitted with an ice-box, and lined with shelves, 

 and on these every kind of fruit, meats, 

 poultry, butter, milk and household supplies 

 was kept perfectly. Such a place would 

 be ideal for keeping the home supply of 

 apples. Wherever the place of storage, it 

 should be scrupulously clean. 



A good arrangement for storing apples in 

 a cellar for home use, is a series of broad 

 shelves one above the other, with a narrow 

 board in front to keep the fruit in place. 

 With this arrangement, they may be inspected 

 as occasion requires to remove any decaying 

 specimens. Boxes or crates holding about 

 a bushel each are also convenient for storing 

 and handling, and are inexpensive. 



With a proper succession of varieties, care- 

 ful handling and storing, and occasional 

 inspection, the Northern fruit grower can 

 have apples throughout the entire year. 



Some long-keeping varieties are: Baldwin, 

 Northern Spy, Ben Davis, Spitzenberg, New- 

 town Pippin, Roxbury Russet. I remember, 

 that in my old home in Wayne County, N. Y., 

 we often had russets until the harvest apples 

 came, thus lapping the two seasons. These 

 were kept in an ordinary house cellar, but 

 there was no furnace in it. Rhode Island 

 Greening, King, and to a degree, Fall Pippin 

 keep well through the greater part of the 

 winter under ordinary conditions, but here 

 they come nearer being fall apples. 



Usually, a firm-fleshed apple with a tough 

 skin is a good keeper. Apples grown in the 

 cooler, moister climates are also better 

 keepers than those raised where the sun shines 

 hot through the clear air at the time of 

 maturity. I have seen such hot weather here 

 (Bergen County, N. J.) in late September 

 that apples on the trees were actually blistered 

 by the heat. Of course, such apples will not 

 keep well. An honored maxim of the fruit 

 growers is never to let the October winds 

 blow on the apples. The locality and local 



conditions of the grower must determine 

 as to the season and keeping qualities of 

 the different varieties, and this must be the 

 guide in assorting and disposing of the 

 crop. 



When apples are grown for marketing it 

 is essential that the prospective market be 

 well considered when sorting the fruit. 



The best crop may be spoiled in its 

 handling, and the use of wrong packages, 

 or sending to wrong markets, may destroy 

 all chance of profits. 



Some markets (such as New York) prefer 

 colored apples, and will pay higher prices 

 for them; others are the reverse. Sometimes 

 there is a difference in price of fifty cents 

 or one dollar a barrel just for these rea- 

 sons. 



For the fancy trade, every apple must be 

 absolutely perfect, without blemish of any 

 kind. There are sorting machines that help 

 the large orchardist to grade his apples 

 according to size, but the machine has not 

 been invented that will select the unblemished 

 specimens. Here is where the small grower 

 has the advantage, either in doing his own 

 work, or at least, supervising it more closely, 

 so being more certain of having everything 

 just right. 



The modern retail trade prefers goods in 

 small packages, hence the advantage of 

 boxes over barrels. In boxes the apples are 

 put in even layers and rows, like eggs in a 

 case. All are uniform in size, and an opened 

 box of these is an attractive sight. When 

 packing apples in barrels, they must be 

 "faced." Good, fair, perfect apples are placed, 

 stems down, in the bottom, which is the end to 

 be opened afterward. Sometimes a second 

 layer is " stemmed." Some fancy apples have 

 an edging of fancy, scalloped paper around 

 the "face" end of the barrel, so that, when 



A man can pick fifty barrels of apples a day from 

 low-headed frees; (en from a high tree 



it is opened, it presents a very attractive 

 appearance. Details like this are only for 

 appearance, but if the first sight of any 

 goods is pleasing, it goes a long way in making 

 a sale. Then the barrel is filled carefully, 

 being well shaken frequently while filling. 

 Do not put all the good specimens in the ends 

 of the barrel and poor ones in the middle. 

 It does not pay! A press is used to force in 

 the head so that the apples are perfectly 

 tight in the barrel when finished. A barrel 

 of apples must not "shake," though many 

 arrive in market in this condition and bring 

 a lower price in consequence. 



For the average small grower, located near 

 a town of any size, it is doubtful whether a 

 better than the home market exists. Here 

 the expense for packages is eliminated, the 

 fruit is off one's hands promptly, and the 

 returns are in hand quickly. 



Sort out and send the poorer grades to the cider mill. MarKet the best only 



