icking at them: But if you cut one of the greenest, and
finde it as was shew'd you before of the Peare: then you may gather
them, and in the house they will come to their ripenesse and perfection.
For your Winter fruit, you shall know the ripenesse by the obseruation
before shewed; but it must be gathered in a faire, Sunny, and dry day,
in the waine of the Moone, and no Wind in the East, also after the deaw
is gone away: for the least wet or moysture will make them subiect to
rot and mildew: also you must haue an apron to gather in, and to empty
into the great baskets, and a hooke to draw the boughes vnto you, which
you cannot reach with your hands at ease: the apron is to be an Ell
euery way, loopt vp to your girdle, so as it may serue for either hand
without any trouble: and when it is full, vnloose one of your loopes,
and empty it gently into the great basket, for in throwing them downe
roughly, their owne stalkes may pricke them; and those which are prickt,
will euer rot. Againe, you must gather your fruit cleane without leaues
or brunts, because the one hurts the tree, for euery brunt would be a
stalke for fruit to grow vpon: the other hurts the fruit by bruising,
and pricking it as it is layd together, and there is nothing sooner
rotteth fruit, then the greene and withered leaues lying amongst them;
neither must you gather them without any stalke at all: for such fruit
will begin to rot where the stalke stood.

{SN: To vse the fallings.}
For such fruit as falleth from the trees, and are not gathered, they
must not be layd with the gathered fruit: and of fallings there are two
sorts, one that fals through ripenesse, and they are best, and may be
kept to bake or roast; the other windfals, and before they are ripe, and
they must be spent as they are gathered, or else they will wither and
come to nothing: and therefore it is not good by any meanes to beate
downe fruit with Poales, or to carrie them in Carts loose and iogging or
in sacks where they may be bruised.

{SN: Carriage of fruit.}
When your fruit is gathered, you shall lay them in deepe Baskets of
Wicker, which shall containe foure or sixe bushels, and so betweene two
men, carry them to your Apple-Loft, and in shooting or laying them
downe, be very carefull that it be done with all gentlenesse, and
leasure, laying euery sort of fruit seuerall by it selfe: but if there
be want of roome hauing so many sorts that you cannot lay them
seuerally, then such some fr