Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1885-10-10
Harvesting Apples.
New England Farmer.

In those sections of New England
where the frost killed the apple bios
som last year, there will be a good
crop to gather this fall. The frost
changed the bearing year in those To-
calities, as it occasionally has done
before in other places. Taking the
country through the apple crop will
be an "off year" crop and will be
well worth gathering and handling
with care. One difficulty connected
with an off year crop is the general
inferiority of the fruit. When apples
are scarce, the worms of various kinds
which infest them are more album
dant in proportion to the number of
apples, than when the crop is large
one. The apple maggot is doing
much damage to the early varieties,
and threatens to become the apple
growers greatest pest. Maggoty APP
pies are not worth gathering except
for cider or for stock. The sound
fruit will all be wanted, and it will
pay to handle it this year with extra
care.
Apples should not be picked so
early that they will wilt, but the
sooner they are gathered after they
are grown the better they will keep.
A hard wind may cause much dam
age by blowing off the fruit and bruis-
ing it. If the late fall is warm, the
fruit will be too ripe on the trees if it
is left hanging on them. Better pick
and place in a cool cellar to retard
ripening. Northern New England
has the advantage over the Southern
portion, because the apples do not
get over ripe before gathering, and
SO they keep better through the win
ter, and retain sprightliness which
more southern fruit rarely possesses.
When gathering fruit pick it singly,
as rule; grasping two or threespeci-
mems at once often bruises each apple
where it touches another, and these
bruised spots soon decay. Do not
handle fruit as one would handle
stones. Do not pour it from basket
to barrel, but handle as carefully as
you would eggs, then, if it is placed
in a cool place it will keep a reasona-
BILE length of time. If one has a cool
cellar we would advise carrying fruit
directly from it to the trees, but with
out good cellar it may be better to
pack in barrels, and pile them up on
: the north side of a building with
boards laid over to keep off rain.
Whatever method may be chosen, re-
member that the secret of keeping
fruit is an even and cool temperature.
In localities where apples are in de-
mand at picking time, it will usually
pay better to sell than to store for
f winter market. There is cOnsidera-
BILE shrinkage and risk from keeping,
but if one is near good retail mar
ket, and has good cellar, the crop
should bring considerably more il
kept till winter. Be careful to keep
each variety separate, and the ear
lier sorts where they will be accessi.
BILE for marketing. Square bushel
boxes are very convenient for storing
! and:marketing apples in a near mar.
| ket. They economist room, are
l easily handled, may be piled high in
the cellar, and can be ventilated much
or little as seems necessary, by merely
placing thin blocks on the corners be
: tween the boxes. 1t is much easier
sorting the fruit over at selling time
than when stored in deep barrels
l The boxes should hold plump bush
ell when level full.