SOUTHERN ORCHARD PLANTINGS 27 
It pays to do everything right. When picking your fmit, be careful of both fruit and tree 
Some varieties of pears should be picked a week or so before they become 
ripe. Bartlctt, Seckel. and Kieffer are the kinds you should pick early, for 
they have a much higher quality when ripened in a cool, dark, airy room. The 
right time for picking depends, to some extent, on whether you grow for your 
own use or for market. If you are going to keep your crop, let all fruits except 
quinces mellow on the tree. If your crop goes to market, pick when the fruit 
is well colored but while it is still firm enough to stand shipping. 
In taking the fruit from the tree, baskets will prove better than bags. The 
handle should be hinged so it will be easier to empty the fruit. Lay the fruit 
gently in the basket; do not drop it, for a bruise will cause rot to start almost 
at once. 
Use a strong, light ladder, and lay it verj' gently into the tree so as not 
to break oiT any small limbs or fruit spurs, thus reducing the prospects of a 
crop the following year. For dwarf apple and pear trees, a solid 3-foot bench 
and a step-ladder should enable you to get all the fruit. 
Just as quicklv as possible after removing the fruit from the tree, get it into 
a cool room. Do not allow the fruit to cool gradually in the orchard. Cool it 
quickly and it will improve the flavor and make it keep longer. 
How to Keep Fruit 
It is a well-known fact that fruit will not keep well unless it is properly 
cared for. It must Ix; kept from frost, sudden weather changes, dampness, 
stagnant air, etc. The best and cheapest way to insure against loss of fruit 
after picking is to build a fruit cellar. Perhaps that sounds too expensive, 
but really it costs little, and, instead of being an expense, it is an investment 
that will pay dividends by keeping the fruit in better condition. 
Here is a plan that will work out well. Make your cellar underground. 
That alone insures against sudden changes of temperature inside; it even excels 
cold storage. If there is a hill nearby, dig your cellar into the side of it. You 
do not need to have all the cellar underground. Build the outside section of 
concrete. At the back of the cellar you should have some means of ventilation. 
A drain-pipe a few inches across and extending up through the earth to the 
surface is the proper thing. This arrangement gives free circulation of air 
when the door is open. Let the air in at the bottom of the door and it will 
pass through the cellar and out of the pipe at the back. Do not put the fruit on 
the floor. Build shelves and put it on them. 
