Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-09-08
Rfpening Fruft.

How to ripen each variety of fruit
SO as to bring it to it's highest state of
perfection, requires full knowledge Of
the qualities OF each fruit. Not only
does each kind Of fruit have it's pc
culiar characteristic, but each variety
OF every kind also has peculiar quail
ties of it's own; while q Bartlett or g.
Gushing pear will eat very well if per-
mitted to riren on the tree, a Jar
gonelle or q Clapp's Favorite will be
entirely worthless if permitted to re-
main on the tree until mellow; and if
gathered at just the right time and
kept in just the right place, unless
eaten at just the right moment, it will
decay at the core and be unfit to eat,
while a Bartlett or a Sickle will be in
excellent condition to eat for at least
week.
To properly ripen winter fruit is even
more difficult than to ripen summer or
autumn fruit. II it be gathered too
early iG fails to ripen so as to secure
the highest flavor, and if left on the
trees too late in the season it ripens
prematurely and loses it's character;
and when gathered, winter fruit, unless
in q storehouse kept at the right tenn
perature, much of it will decay without
ripening as it should. Probably not
half the fruit we eat is gathered at
just the right time and kept in just the
right place to ripen it so as to secure
the best condition for eating.
The peach is q fruit that requires to
be so ripe when gathered that it can
not be transported long distances with
out injury. SO most Of the peaches we
eat are gathered in such unripe condi-
ton that it can becarried hundreds Of
miles before it ripens, and when ripe is
of a much inferior quality to what it
would have been if it could have re-
manned on the trees a week longer.
What is true OF the peach is true of
most of the summer fruits, especially
the small fruits. The strawberry is g.
fruit that ripens best on the vines;
therefore a strawberry must be grown
to secure it in it's best condition. A
good strawberry, thoroughly ripe, can
not easily be transported dozen miles
without injury; the same is true of the
raspberry. Grapes are not quite as
bad, yet there are many varieties that
when fully ripened on the ines possess
flavor very much better THANH if gath
cred sooner and ripened after being
transported several hundred miles
Nearly every fruit that has to be car
ried long distances to market must be
gathered soon after fully grown, and
some even before; and all winter fruit
whether to be transported or not,
must be gathered as soon as fully
grown and ripened in g. store-house.
What temperature the store-house
should be must depend on the fruit,
and how long before the fruit is
wanted. Apples that are not wanted
before spring should be kept very near
the freezing point; but if wanted be-
fore January, the temperature should
be 2Oo above freezing. Pears ripen
more readily than apples, therefore
early winter pears should be kept
quite cool, but not in q freezing at
mosphere, because pear will not
stand the cold as well as an apple;
$50 to 400 is as low a degree of cold as
should be permitted in a room where
pears are kept, but apples may be
kept with safety where the tempera
ture is as low as 800.
We are learning something every
year in relation to keeping fruit, but
there is much to learn before we know
just when to gather it, and just where
TO keep it SO as to have it in the high
est perfection inst when we want it to
eat.-PrachcaI Farmer.