Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-02-20
Keeping Winter Apples.

MeSSrS. Editors Responding to your
request made in CultiUI t0r of Dec. 18th,
| contribute my quota toward informa-
ton as TO the best mode of keeping win
ter apples. From somewhat length
ened experience, | have come to the
conclusion that two things are essential
to preserving apples for the winter, or
marketing them late in the fall. The
first is that after they are picked from
tbs trees, they should remain in open
bins, boxes or barrels until they have
sweated and dried off, when they are
ready for the packages, and should be
put up for permanency only in cool, dry
weather For long keeping, they should
be put in clean, tight boxes or barrels,
and placed in as cool room or cellar as
may be without freezing.
l have a large number of boxes in
which | market grapes, and holding
two-thirds of a bushel each into these |
put winter apples for my own use, and
very fine ones are wiped off with cloth
before being put up. In this way they
keep better than in any other way which
l have tried, and l had Newton Pippins
and Russets until last July.
/ am satisfied that no package should
be opened during the winter, until the
contents are wanted for use, and | have
found that when ] have assorted apples
in barrels during the winter, they did
not keep so well thereafter as those
which had not been opened.
Some recommended laying the apples
on shelves. Ihave never tried this mode
except by accident, and the few speci-
mems so left have invariably wilted be-
fore they should have lost their solidity.
49, al 8 i
that only few apples are exposed at
any time when wanted for use. For
merly, when ! kept them in barrels, |
always found, when a barrel was opened
and we began to use the apples they rot
ted much faster than those not exposed.
You make inquiry as to the relative
value of apples carefully put up for
market; and those otherwise put up. 1t
Is difficult to fix any proportionate sum,
besides there is great difference in the
kind of care used.
One farmer habitually puts up his APP
Piles in good barrels, honestly packed
having picked out the inferior ones, and
making the quality equal through the
the package. His mark becomes known
to buyers, ana always commands the
best prices. Another farmer (and there
are a good many of this kind ge2y care
fully picks out the cider apples, puts a
few good ones in the bottom of the bar
rels, puts in the cider apples and fills up
with good ones, and then chuckles over
his superior smartness Che should say
rascality) in getting ahead of the ignor.
amuses ''doWn in York.
The writer last fall saw lot of New
ton Pippins offered to buyer who ships
to England A head was taken out of q
barrel and the fruit looked very well
the buyer asked to see the other end, SC
it was headed up and the bottom opened
when the fine shipping apples proved tc
be mean cider apples. They did not
sell for very high price. 1t is strange
that men cannot be convinced blythe ties.
timony of all fruit buyers that it will
pay best to put up fruit honestly.
A word about packing apples q mean
winter apples) Immediately after they
have been picked have read of some
noted fruit men who are reported to dc
50, but / must still insist upon it that
there is no security for their keeping
well. Thousands of barrels were ship
ped last fall to England put up in this
way, and costing the shippers two dol
lars barrel or more on shipboard, and
returning them not more that half cost
They arrived wet and shrunken, and
were sold very low, while the freight
ard charges were as much as if they had
brought full prices. Cor. Of Cultj0ator.