868 



GATHERING FEUTTS, ETC. 



all separate ; when sound and bruised, eaVly and late, are 

 all thrown together promiscuously, they cannot Yail to 

 decay speedily and to lose their flavor ; for two or three 

 decaying apples in a heap or barrel will taint the flavor 

 of all, and hasten the decay of those around them. This 

 arrangement into grades and classes is, therefore, absolute- 

 ly necessary even for the fruits needed for family use ; and 

 when they are so arranged, the sound, long keepers are put 

 into clean, new barrels, carefully by hand, and the barrels 

 headed up tightly and placed in a cool dry cellar or fi uit 

 room. The bruised ones can be laid in a place by them- 

 selves for immediate use. Every barrel, when packed: 

 should be marked. 



Wi7iter Pears^ as a general thing, require to be broughl 

 into a warm temperature one or two weeks before they 

 are wanted for table use. All the baking and stewing^ 

 and even many of the table varieties, may be treated 

 exactly like apples. 



Packing Pears for distant markets. — ^The French send 

 away more pears to foreign markets than any other peo- 

 ple. Some small importations of their winter sorts have 

 actually been made by some of the JN^ew York fniit 

 dealers the present winter, 1850-51. They pack them in 

 small boxes, either romid or square, such as a man can 

 lift and carry easily in Ins hands. 



They cover the bottom and sides with very dry moss 

 or soft dry pa2:)er, well calculated to absorb moisture. 

 They then wrap each fruit in the dry, soft paper, and lay 

 them in layers, the largest and least mature in the bottom, 

 and fill all the interstices with dry moss or ])aper. I have 

 seen these boxes opened in London, in the finest con- 

 dition, after being a month packed. They are so tightly 

 pacl'ou tluit tlie siiirlitest movement cannot take place 

 among them, and yet no one pre66es upon another. The 



