JUDGING FRUITS 



459 



Commercial Packages. Commercial packages must be of 

 the nature required by commercial practice and by the rules. 

 The same general principles governing plate exhibits also apply 

 to them. A very effective exhibit device is the box flat. This 

 is an apple box cut down so as to hold one layer of fruit. Ar- 

 ranged in banks, with colors and designs carefully worked out, 

 these flats are exceedingly attractive. 



Polishing Fruit, Polishing the specimens with a dry cloth 

 gives them a glossier finish than they possess in their natural 

 state. Many feel that the fruit should not be polished any 

 more than it should be peeled, since the bloom is a part of the 



Fig. 179. Each of these Baldwin apples shown on the same plate is a 

 good apple in itself, but the specimens are so diverse as to size, shape, 

 color, and length of stems as to make the plate of no value in a 



competitive exhibit. 



natural product. However, unpolished fruit may be at a dis- 

 advantage in competition with that which has been polished. 

 The matter should be covered in the rules governing the ex- 

 hibition. 



3. Judging Fruits. Five specimens of apples, pears, 

 peaches, and quinces, and three clusters of grapes constitute a 

 plate at most exhibitions. Plums and cherries sufiicient to cover 

 an 8-inch plate are usually required. The smaller fruits, as 

 berries, are usually exhibited in small packages as pint boxes. 



For plate exhibits of tree fruits the American Society for 

 Horticultural Science has promulgated rules and score cards 

 which are now generally accepted and used. 



