54 
Practical  Hints  on  Fruit  Farming. 
Hoot  pruning-  and  lifting  need  not  he  described  here  as 
these  operations  are  too  elaborate  and  costly  for  adoption  on 
large  areas  of  fruit  land. 
IbCKINCi. 
Fruit  picking  is  often  neglected,  and  the  grower  frequently 
leaves  the  operation  to  untrained  hands  not  carefullv  superin- 
tended, who,  to  save  time  and  trouble,  tear  the  fruit  from  the 
trees,  bruising  and  crushing  some,  and  rubbing  the  “ bloom  " 
— a sine  c/ud  non  for  the  look  of  fruit — off  others.  Nor  does 
the  injury  end  here,  as  by  injudicious  and  rough  picking 
twigs  are  snatched  off,  and  boughs  are  broken  and  rubbed 
by  the  careless  placing  of  ladders,  thereby  causing  the  trees 
to  gum  and  canker.  The  fruit  buds  and  spurs  of  the  next 
year’s  promise  are  often  destroyed  by  rough  and  slovenlv 
picking.  In  the  case  of  apples  and  pears  the  fruit  should 
never  be  shaken  down,  exce])t  perhaps  for  cider  making. 
Ladders  should  be  used,  and  j)laced  very  carefully  so  as  not 
to  injure  the  trees.  Folding  ladders  may  be  used  for  young 
and  low  trees  and  pyramids,  and  the  u])per  parts  of  bush  trees. 
The  grower  should  carefully  su[)ervise  the  ])icking  of  his 
fruit  according  to  the  variety',  the  season,  and  the  demand 
from  the  market.  Early  apples  should  be  picked  a little  time 
before  they  are  quite  ripe,  but  the  late  varieties  should  be 
allowed  to  hang  and  remain  on  the  tree  as  late  as  possilde  to 
obtain  colour  and  weight.  Fears,  which  require  mo.st  con- 
siderate handling,  should  be  picked  before  they  are  quite  ripe. 
The  fruit  should  be  placed  gently  into  the  picking  bags  or 
baskets  when  being  picked,  especially  in  the  case  of  pears  and 
ap])les  for  storing,  as  the  bruises  resulting  from  careless  picking 
cause  the  fruit  to  become  rotten.  Plums  should  be  gathered 
before  they  become  soft,  and  should  be  picked  one  by  one  as 
delicately  as  possible  in  order  to  preserve  the  “ bloom.” 
Cdierries  should  show  colour,  and  be  gathered  dry.  Cur- 
rants must  be  gathered  free  from  leaves  and  twigs,  and  not 
when  over-ripe.  Strawberries  are  picked  when  red,  but  not 
quite  ripe  ; they  are  usually  gathered  on  fruit  farms  at  a very 
early  hour  in  the  morning.  ( ’hoice  varieties  for  dessert  should 
be  ])icked  when  the  dew  is  off.  Haspberries  require  the 
greatest  management,  as  they  lose  their  juice  and  become 
mouldy  if  allowed  to  hang  too  long  on  the  canes.  Soft  fruit 
must  be  handled  lightly  in  ]>icking  so  as  not  to  squeeze  it. 
All  fruit  ])ays  for  going  over  the  trees  and  bushes  two  or  three 
times,  as  by  this  means  an  uniform  sample  is  secured. 
