6 CIRCULAR 659, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



especially from the standpoint of spreading labor, these are out- 

 weighed by the disadvantages. When packing houses are congested 

 and cold-storage space is not available, it is ordinarily preferable to 

 let the picked fruit remain in the orchard in the shade of the trees; 

 the boxes should be spaced so that air can circulate freely about them, 

 and the stacks should be covered so as to protect the fruit from direct 

 sunlight and rain (fig. 1, A). The apples will ripen less rapidly than 

 if stacked in the open in unprotected large piles at the packing house 

 as is sometimes done (fig. 2). 



Figure 1. — A, Boxes of apples in the shade of a tree in an orchard. Note that 

 the boxes are covered to protect the fruit from direct sunlight and rain and 

 that the air can circulate freely about them. B, Hauling cull apples from the 

 packing house. Frequent disposal of culls will reduce sources of infection by 

 decay fungi. 



