Apples always, whether in barrels or piles, when the temperature is
rising so that the surrounding air is warmer than the apples, condense
moisture on the surface and become quite moist and sometimes dripping
wet, and this has given the common impression that they "sweat," which
is not true. As they come from the tree they are plump and solid,
full of juice; by keeping, they gradually part with a portion of this
moisture, the quantity varying with the temperature and the circulation
of air about them, and being much more rapid when first picked than
after a short time, and by parting with this moisture they become
springy or yielding, and in a better condition to pack closely in
barrels; but this moisture never shows on the surface in the form of
sweat. In keeping apples, very much depends upon the surroundings; every
variation in temperature causes a change in the fruit, and hastens
maturity and decay, and we should strive to have as little change as
possible, and also have the temperature as low as possible, so the
apples do not freeze. Then, some varieties keep much better in open bins
than others; for instance, the Greening is one of the best to store in
bins. A very good way for storing apples is to have a fruit-room that
can be made and kept at from 32° to 28°, and the air close and pure,
put the apples in slatted boxes, not bins, each box holding about one
barrel, and pile them in tiers, so that one box above rests on two
below, and only barrel when ready to market; but this is an expensive
way, and can only be practiced by those with limited crops of apples,
and it is not at all practicable for long keeping, because in this way
they lose moisture much more rapidly than when headed close in barrels,
and become badly shriveled.
All things considered, there is no way of keeping apples quite so good
and practicable as packing in light barrels and storing in cool cellars;
the barrel forms a room within a room, and prevents circulation of air
and consequent drying and shrinking of the fruit, and also lessens the
changes of temperature, and besides more fruit can be packed and stored
in a given space than in any other way. 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.
The very best method depends a good deal upon the quantity to be
handled; if only a few hundred barrels, they can be put in open barrels
and stored on the barn floor. Place empty barrels on a log-boat or old
sled; take out the upper head and place it in the bottom of the barrel;
on picking the apples put them, without sorting, directly into these
barrels, and when a load is filled, draw to the barn and place in tiers
on end along one side of the floor; when one tier is full lay some
strips of boards on top and on these place another tier of barrels; then
more boards and another tier; two men can easily place them three tiers
high, and an ordinary barn floor will in this way store a good many
barrels of apples. Where many hundreds or thousands of barrels are
grown, it is a good plan to build houses or sheds in convenient places
in the orchard for holding the apples as picked; these are built on
posts or stones, about one foot from the ground; floors, sides, and ends
should be made of strips about four inches wide and placed one inch
apart, and the roof should project well on every side. The apples, as
picked, are drawn to these in boxes or barrels and piled carefully on
the floors, about three feet deep. Where these houses are not provided,
the next best way is to pile the apples, as picked, on clean straw under
the trees in the deepest shade to be found.
After lying in any one of these positions about ten days they should
be carefully sorted and packed in clean barrels, placing at least two
layers on the bottom of the barrels, with stems down; after this fill
full, shaking moderately two or three times as the tilling goes on, and,
with some sort of press, press the head down, so that the apples shall
remain firm and full under all kinds of handling. Apples may be pressed
too much as well as too little. If pressed so that many are broken, and
badly broken, they will soon get loose and rattle in the barrels, and
nothing spoils them sooner than this. What we want is to have them just
so they shall be sure to remain firm, and carefully shaking so as to
have them well settled together, has as much to do with their remaining
firm as the pressing down of the head. After the barrels are filled and
headed they should at once be placed on their sides in a barn or shed,
or in piles, covered with boards, from sun and rain, or if a fruit-house
or cellar is handy they may at once be placed therein; the object should
be to keep them as cool and at as even a temperature as possible. In all
the operations of handling apples from picking to market, remember that
carelessness and harshness always bruise the fruit, and that every
bruise detracts much from its keeping and market value; and remember
another thing, that "Honesty is the best policy."--_J.S. Woodward, in
N.Y. Tribune_.
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