166 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



the packing, and arrive in a bruised and worthless 

 condition. Never use wadding - , the worst of all 

 packing materials for soft' perishable fruit, as it ab- 

 sorbs moisture, becomes very hard, and heats on the 

 journey. Avoid using large boxes; 24 inches by 

 14, and 4| deep, is a suitable size for twenty to 

 twenty -four fine fruit. Always have the lids in one 

 piece, and cord two or more boxes together. Place 

 the direction label and one marked, " Fruit with care, 

 this side up," on the top, to be met at the terminus. 

 Always gather in close at the end of the week, and 

 never send away later than Friday morning. Al- 

 though Peaches may be sufficiently advanced for 

 sending away, their hold is too firm to admit of their 

 being plucked from the tree without inj ury by the 

 pressure of the fingers ; but if a piece of wadding be 

 taken in the left hand, with which the Peach is 

 firmly grasped, and a pair of finely pointed scissors 

 used with the right, it may be detached without be- 

 ing bruised. It should then be placed on a piece of 

 tissue paper nine inches square, and laid in a shallow 

 basket containing a good bed of moss. When 

 gathering, which should always be performed in the 

 morning, is finished, prepare the boxes by lining the 

 sides and ends with paper, allowing the half of each 

 sheet to hang over the sides for turning over the top 

 when all is finished. Then place a good layer of 

 moss evenly over the bottom, slightly elevate one 

 end, and commence by folding the fruit in the sheets 

 of paper on which they are resting. Shake a little 

 moss along the lower end of the box, and place the 

 first Peach in the left-hand corner : keep in its place 

 with the left hand, follow with more moss and fruit, 

 never removing the hand until the first row of four 

 fruits is finished ; form a division with more packing, 

 and proceed until the box is full. Each Peach will 

 then be resting in a soft bed of moss, an inch from 

 the bottom, and the same distance apart. Continue 

 the introduction of packing until every fruit is quite 

 firm in its place ; spread a layer of moss over the top, 

 turn up the half-sheets of paper and put on the lid. 

 A little judgment is needed in putting on the last 

 layer of moss, as safety in transit depends upon the 

 tightness secured in putting on the lid. If moss 

 cannot be obtained and bran is used, the boxes should 

 be well lined with plenty of paper to turn over the top, 

 to prevent it from working out. Make a good bed, as 

 fruit is often spoiled by being placed too near the 

 bottom ; place all the Peaches on this bed, keeping 

 them half an inch from the sides and an inch apart ; 

 fill up with bran and shake it down ; but do not 

 trust to shaking only, as shaking on the railway soon 

 reduces the bulk, and in nine cases out of ten where 

 bran is used, the Peaches work up to the top or one 

 end, and the bran going in another direction, they 

 arrive in a bruised condition. An abundance of bran 



should be worked into the corners and between the 

 fruit, aud well pressed down with the fingers until 

 every part is'nrm, and a little higher than the sides 

 of the box, then turn over the paper and nail down 

 the lid. When packing for market, always make 

 " firsts " and " seocnds," and place record of quantity 

 on the lid. 



When large ripe Peaches have to be packed for 

 immediate use, they should be gathered a day or two 

 before they are wanted, and placed upon squares of 

 paper on hair sieves. Great care must be observed 

 in moving them with pads of wadding in the hands, 

 and an extra quantity of moss should be placed 

 under them in the boxes. The folding of these 

 and all tender fruit is best performed on a sheet 

 of wadding spread upon the table, and they should 

 be packed with the points upwards. Nectarines 

 can be packed in shallower boxes ; in other respects 

 they should be the same size, as a number of boxes 

 can then be corded together. 



Keeping Peaches. — When a number of fine 

 Peaches are wanted for any special purpose on a par- 

 ticular day, and their keeping in a good condition 

 on the trees is doubtful, they should be carefully 

 gathered before they are quite ripe, as the slightest 

 pressure or inj ury in detaching them from the wood 

 results in a bruise, fermentation follows, and the object 

 in view is defeated. When Peaches are very fine 

 they sometimes swell nearly round the wood to which 

 they are attached, and their removal without injury 

 is very difficult. If attached to a piece of wood not a 

 leader that is to be cut out at the next pruning, with 

 a pair of pruning scissors cut above and below the 

 fruit, and leave the short piece of wood attached to the 

 fruit for a few days, when it will part readily with- 

 out leaving a bruise. After the Peaches are detached, 

 place them on hair sieves with a square of paper under 

 each fruit for convenience of moving without hand- 

 ling them, and convey the sieves to a cool, airy place, 

 where they will be safe from vermin. Some kinds 

 of Peaches keep better than others. All the Grosse 

 Mignonne section and the Noblesse are very tender, 

 and not so well adapted for keeping as Bellegarde 

 and Barrington, which can be kept for ten days — 

 sometimes a fortnight, if gathered in time, but the 

 secret of success lies in gathering early. That fine 

 late Peach, Sea Eagle, is one of the best Peaches for 

 keeping a long time after it is ripe. These remarks 

 do not apply to such coarse clingstones as the Salway, 

 which are only fit for compotes. 



Dishing Peaches. — Every grower of Peaches 

 should dish his own fruit. It is distressing to see 

 how often large luscious Peaches are piled up in 

 dishes by people who do not learn by experience that 



