FRUITS—PREPARING FOR MARKET 
Washington—Continued 
Southwest Washington Fruit Growers’ Associ- 
aticn, Chehalis, . 
Stevens County Fruit Growers’ Union, Myers 
all's 
The Green Bluffs Fruit Growers’ Association, 
ead. 
The Ridgefield Fruit Growers’ Association, 
Ridgefield. 
The Touchet Valley Fruit and Produce Union, 
Dayton. 
Thurston County Fruit Growérs’ Union, Tum- 
water. 
Vashon Fruit Union, Vashon. 
Walla Walla Fruit and Vegetable Union, Walla 
alla. 
Wenatchee District Fruit Growers’ Union, We- 
natchee. 
Wenatchee Valley Fruit Growers’ Association, 
Wenatchee. 
White River Valley Fruit and Berry Growers’ 
Association, Kent. 
White Salmon Fruit Growers’ Union, White 
Salmon. 
Yakima Valley Fruit Growers’ 
North Yakima 
Yakima Valley Fruit and Produce Growers’ 
Association, Granger. 
Yakima County Horticultural Union, North 
Yakima 
Zillah Fruit Growers’ Association, Toppenish. 
—~Better Fruit, January, 19138. 
F'rurt Growers’ ASSOCIATION, YAKIMA. 
See Marketing. 
Fruir Margxs Act, 
Laws. 
FRUIT MERCHANDISING, ECONOMICS OF. 
See Marketing. 
PREPARING FRUITS FOR MARKET 
Rules for picking, sorting, packing of 
various fruits in use by the Yakima Val- 
ley Fruit Growers’ Association: 
Compiled by Charles L. Hamilton. 
Picking 
1. Care should be used by pickers not 
to break off the fruit buds for the follow- 
ing year. 
2. Never allow the orchard boxes fill- 
ed with fruit to stand in the sun. 
3. Where possible, pick fruit during 
the coolest part of day. 
4. Picking at proper time is just as 
important as any other part of the work. 
(a) Fruit picked too early is usually 
unfit for food. 
(b) Fruit picked too late is usually 
too ripe for shipment, as in the case of 
Overripe peaches, cots, prunes, plums, 
ete. 
(c) Apples picked after heavy frost do 
not hold up well. 
Association, 
CANADIAN. See 
(d) Rain on fruit that is maturing in- 
jures the keeping quality. 
(1) In the case of yellow peaches 
causes them to ripen without showing 
1053 
proper amount of yellow color and often 
causes them to turn black at pit 
(2) Cherries, plums, prunes and cots 
will ripen and start to decay soon after 
packing where rain comes at time fruit 
is almost ready to move. 
(83) Pears are affected in the same 
way as cherries, plums, prunes, etc., but 
will hold up longer. 
(4) Apples that receive heavy rains 
when maturing will not hold up as long 
as they would under proper climatic con- 
ditions. 
5. Care should be exercised in picking 
the different kinds of fruit so the mar- 
ketable qualities will not be injured. 
(a) CHERRIES: 
(1) Cherries should be carefully pick- 
ed from tree so as to secure part or all 
of stem. 
(2) When picking cherries, all blem- 
ished, misshapen, stemless or green fruit 
should be thrown out by pickers. 
(3) Pick into small buckets and pour 
gently into orchard boxes. 
(4) Boxes should not be filled over six 
inches deep and should never be allowed 
to stand in sun. 
(b) PRUNES AND PLUMS: 
(1) Care should be taken by pickers 
to pick fruit with stems intact. 
(2) Pickers should be very careful in 
picking not to brush off the bloom. 
(8) Gloves should not be used in the 
handling of prunes and plums. 
(4) Prunes and plums should be hard 
ripe for picking, fruit should contain 
some sugar and be matured enough so 
it will continue ripening and have a good 
flavor. 
(5) Wherever possible, pack directly 
out of picking buckets. (Saves handling, 
protects the bloom). 
(c) PEACHES: 
(1) Peaches should be hard ripe for 
picking. 
(a) White peaches should be in such a 
condition that they will have lost that 
deep green cast and show light green or 
silvery white and be filled out. 
(bd) Yellow peaches, when in condition 
to pick, should have lost the deep green 
cast and should show a golden yellow on 
