The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1886-07-07
season, toor as they will ripen more
- roar than another.

Tn taking fruit OH the Ireo -
should v be pressed hard by the
fingers but be taken well In hano,
the stem being between the second
and third fingers, then by a gentle
pull and twist, the third finger being
turned under the twig, thus prying
it off, as it were, it is parted from
the stem very readily. Picking In
this way, the peach is more sure to-
be clear of the piece Of stem that Is
so apt to adhere to it in careless
picking, and that frequently bruises
it's neighbor- The peach should be
laid, not dropped into the basket
which when ftLly is placed in the
shade, to be taken by the carriers
to the packers
Asserting, grading and packing
are parts Of one. operation, which l
can best describe by giving our OWL
mode of doing. I'm u picking shed,
which is open On all sides so as to
admit all the air possible in order to
cool the fruit, we have a number Of
troughs two feet wide, five inches
deep, fifteen to twenty long and say
two feet from the ground, contain
ing a layer Of straw, covered by
sheeting, to prevent bruising, into
which the fruit is carefully poured,
as it comes from the trees. At this
trough the packers sit, sideways, two
and two facing, with several baskets
between them in which they place
the various grades Of peaches, say,
specked, quite soft, slightly soft,
small unmarketable and market
peaches in two, sometimes three
grades. The first four mentioned
are thus divided for convenience in
subsequent handling, as we have a
home market for certain kinds. The
division might not be necessary for
others. But grading for market is
of the utmost Importance, and NO
shipper who neglects a realize the
best results. Whatever grades and
brands he makes he should conscien-
tiously keep up the quality through
out the season. The reputation of
his mark is worth much to him, as
his aim should be to establish and
maintain it. He must not be afraid
of making his second grade too good.
In placing fruit in the packages
care should be taken not to brnise
by rough handling or pressure by
the ends of the fingers. Experience
will soon teach where to expect a
soft spot on a peach, and gentle
handling will discover it. If there,
only of the size of a 3-cent piece, it
is not fit for the New York market,
but must go into another lot for
Richmond, or some near point, where
they are sold twenty-four hours ear
lier than in New York. Peaches de-
fective in form should likewise be
rejected. Care should be taken to
pack closely and uniformly in
crates. While it is we'll enough to
place peaches SO that those showing
between the Stats shall have the red
side out, laying them in a close, COM
pact line, the blossom end turned in
same direction, (never put them on
ends), it is by no means advisable to
put all fine peaches IN outer layers
and the smaller ones inside for the
cheat will certainly be discovered
and will injure the sale of future lots
of same mark.
When the crate isrounding full, the
closer takes it in charge, if too full
removing a few peaches just on the
lid, and holding it down whilst he
jOstles the crate on the ground. set
ties the peaches all in place. Then
filling up evenly to overfulness he
nails the lid on, using some force to
bring it down. While peaches will
not bear much bruising by blows,
they are elastic enough to bear con-
siderable pressure, and unless this is
used in packing they will settle so
much in transit as to bruise by roll
ing against each other and reach
market in bad order.
Packages.-The crate, in some
shape, has heretofore been univer-
sally used, and will probably remain
the standard package for all but
fancy fruits. The size, as recon.
mended by u association is, end
pieces 6 X Ii inches, Stats % inches
long. We use a little larger, or
Maryland size, having adopted it
several years ago, and fearing to
change to anything smaller to the
possible injury Of our trade. Of
course every shipper has a right to
use whatever size and shape he pre-