Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1857-12-10
Chapter on ReeIipg Winter AnnIes

rhdP'er On NeelpS Nlnte1 Apples
The sPple crop bSkezcoan,ryis not SUI
hcien'iy priced and esred for. oth,r fr..it
J. are good in Arir syasan-Peacbes, ounces
pears cherries, &s.-but for a stand by
there Is nothingxlse can ill The place o
apples Our onB objcct, in this preseu
writing, is to say lew words about gather
ing and keeping apples in winter.
ihe care should commence ith the first
move in picking from the trees, 20;
which purpose baskets should be provided
I with lining of cloth, CT other soft sub
stance, to prevent the fruit from being trli-
sed against the sides. Next, the picker
should have i ;Iee-llddeT, that VIII enable
him to reach the fruit wi.hcu, shaking it of,
ana piece OF rope to let down the basket
as often. as il IS flied. Thus equipped, the
iinlt-saih3yer can go to his work. selecting
! only sucf spPies as are sodfd, and 81 70 put
Up Tor keeping, 10 lay in his basket, anu
dropping all others upon the ground, 10 be
picked Up for feeding to stock, or other
wise disposed OF.
II apples are to be kept in barrels, which
IS the most common way, they should be
laid in by the hand, and not poured from
TIE basket, 70 be bruised upon the barrel
or against each oiher. They should be dry
anc clean when put up, and aiter standing
a few weeks, will have gone through the
hrst sweating process, ani be ready for final
packing. Tbis should be done VITA the same
careiuiness as the first, looking closely fo:
the deveioPement OF any rot or im2erfec-
ton that escaped notice in the first instance.
Ii has been demonstrated that app es kept
best in barrels that have been before used
IoT SAL. Sc that il old salt barrels cannot
be readily obtained |, common q ,ur barrels
can be made to answer the sam9 purpose, by
being first drenched With salt water Ia ali
cases, the barrels or boxes must be very dry
when the fruit is Put uP; and il old salt bar
rels are used, they should be we'll washed, -
tlke out the excess of salt. When ihs ap-
Piles are repacked, the inside of the barrels
should be lined with heavy packing paper, ;,
or thin coating oi clean dried strsw, to-
Keep the fruit from being bruised by pres
sure, as well as to absorb any lit;le mo >
ture arising from it. Tnen the barrels sh,uId
be Placed in dry, airy cellar, secure from
The irost, and covered close.
This process will involve scme labor, but
1t is labor iha; " i'll pay; and no farmer, who
expects apples 10 keep as they should, can
hope to get along with less trouble than
this. la some cases, even more pains Iha
4 u atg,
that is desired to be kePt long and we'll, we
would take each apple by itself, ana wrap it
in piece OF soft paper, as oranges and lem
Ons are put up, and put them IN boxes orI
kegs of not more than bushel each. and
thea they vii! open in dry time, when
such things will be priced, fl Tor hing
that is. farmer king, and his queen and
princes of the :oJal suuseholt, whe, accofd-
ing 10 the Scripture, shall be the fist par |
takers oi tie fruits.
There is another way Of keeping oppes
in winter, that We have seen pFictlset, ami
on some accounts think it better than t.
keep in barrels or boxes. The plan IS ivi
build in t e fruit cellar Tier ci shelves, say
two feet wle, with ;iie strips SIX ill., hes
high nailed on the edges, the shelves bout
20 inches apart. ond OF such i"rgth as viii
contain what fruit is to be put OH. Tire
shelves may be set cgaiEst the wall of The
cellar or oat in open space. as is most con-
If Sc; out it is easy 10 20 II about /
them, and being more accessible to lIghr. /
the fruit can be he;ter inspected from time
TO time. We h We seen exec lent arrange
meats Of this KIN ! in the cellars OF our
friends Verzon, o. Delaware and Andc' sen
Of PAius sv,ie. a suit OF shelves OF this kind
made OF IL or II feet boards, i'll hold lrou
80 to 75 bushels o. apples.
The chef advantages of this plan aie.
that the fruit eau b, stored away at one
where it is to remlin. b. Partitions, easily
set in, the fruit OF each tree can be kept 5v
self; then, as the winter ripeninJ OF decay
in goas on, pers IN can gin at on. end
Of the shelf, pick over and lay b OK the
iruit, taking out any that i going 10 decay,
selecting the most forward fcr immediate
use, aid in short. of knowing ;u,t tie con-
iition of the Whole lot at oace. The shelves
are easily Constructed by any farmer, by a.
King pieces Of plank, or scauIlng, tor up
Iglts at the ends and middle Of the Iel@c- :;
bore lorgc auecr hc,es for tha crnss-uars;-
put in stickl to rest the boards upon: then
lay in the bed boards nal on the side strips
aud drive the uPr;ghts so as 10 hold Ihrm
cluse; fasten the upper end Of the uirights
to tie ioist overhead, and let the bottoms
stand firm on the ground, ard the shelves
are ready for apples.
For hong keeping, fruit should not be -
posed to the light, as it hastens ripeninI.
and consequently has'eus decay. When ap-
pies have gone TO their final packing, they
should not be exposed to currents ct fresh
air, as this carries of tre aroma: AMI apples
kept in the atmosphere of their uwu ar0mI.
are far more delicious and positive in taste,
han those waic: have their spirit faded ou.
Of them by too much ventilation. J lUs
" tn apples, Kept in rlosc barrels, o. wrap;
N papers, have more juice and spirit than
.hnse k,pt open; there ore, FOR late keeping,
We prefer barrels 10 shelves; while, for ear
v and mi -yiutcr u-e. the shelves may b.
,relerIb!e. - Oi;o CrHirator.
IOCSG TREES.-The first rea.ety, which
70 f;nI in Massachusetts, pi ur,,o.,, -