The poorest of all ways is the
large open bin, and the objections are: too much fruit in contact; too
much weight upon the lower fruit; and too much trouble to handle and
sort when desirable to market. It was formerly the almost universal
custom in Western New York to sort and barrel the apples as fast as
picked from the trees, heading up at once and drawing to market or
piling in some cool place till the approach of cold weather, and then
putting in cellars. By this method it was impossible to prevent leaves,
twigs, and other dirt from getting into the bin, and it was difficult to
properly sort the fruit, and if well sorted, occasionally an apple, with
no visible cause, will entirely and wholly rot soon after packing. Some
varieties are more liable to do this than others, but all will to some
extent; this occurs within a week or ten days after picking, and, when
barreled, these decayed apples are of course in the barrels, and help to
decay others. Although packed ever so well and pressed ever so tight,
the shrinking of the fresh-picked fruit, soon makes them loose, and
nothing is so bad in handling apples as this. Altogether this was a very
untidy method of handling apples, and has been entirely abandoned for a
better.
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