268 Practical Orcharding On Rough Lands. 



business. They either became discouraged and 

 quit the business, or financially disabled, so 

 were compelled to seek other employment. 



When to Pick. — ^The time of picking fruit 

 should receive more careful consideration, as 

 it affects not only the keeping of the fruit, but 

 the quality as well. Many apples have been 

 taken from the cellar in a shrivelled, wilted 

 condition during the winter and spring simply 

 because they were not allowed to remain on 

 the tree until they were mature. These fruits 

 were tough and tasteless because they had not 

 been allowed to ripen, but were taken off when 

 the grower happened to have the time and in- 

 clination to pick them. On the other hand 

 much of our earlier ripening fruits are left 

 upon the trees until they are over ripe, and 

 reach the market or storage in bad condition. 



There can be no set dates when certain va- 

 rieties should be gathered. Soil and climate 

 have much to do in determining the time an 

 apple or other fruits should be picked. The 

 Northern Spy, Baldwin and Greening are 

 winter apples in New York State and should 

 be gathered late in the fall, while in some sec- 

 tions of the Virginias these varieties must be 

 gathered the last of August or first of 'Septem- 

 ber, or they will all drop. Thus we see that 

 the climatic conditions govern or determine the 



