an of
resources and skill will be able to raise good apples for himself,
unless, of course, the region is prohibitive. The amateur may be a law
unto himself in many of these matters, delighting in the ingenuity
that enables him to overcome.

XVI

THE HARVEST OF THE APPLE-TREE

Finally the apple is ripe, a fair goodly object joyous in the sun,
inviting to every sense. Hanging amidst its foliage, bending the twig
with its weight, it is at once a pattern in good shape, perfect in
configuration, in sheen beyond imitation, in fragrance the very
affluence of all choice clean growth, its surface spread with a bloom
often so delicate that the unsympathetic see it not; and yet the rains
do not spoil it.

The apple must be picked. Do not let it fall. Probably it is over-ripe
when it falls; the hold is loosened; its time is up. Wormy apples may
fall before they are ripe; the worm injury, if it begins early, causes
them to ripen prematurely. A premature apple is not a good apple,
albeit the small boy relishes it but only because he may get his apple
earlier; in the apple season, when ripe fruits are abundant, the boy
does not choose the wormy one.

Pick the apple from the tree. It will do you good. It is ever so much
better than to pick it from a box on the market or out of a quart-can
in the ice-chest. You will feel some sense of responsibility when you
pick it, some reaction of relationship to its origin. We know that we
understand folks better when we see them at home.

In varieties that mature before winter, the apple is of best quality
when it ripens on the tree and is picked when fit to eat. In this
respect it differs from the pear. One reason why store apples are
usually poor is because they must be picked long before ripe to stand
shipment. In my experience it is most difficult to find a man who will
pick apples when ripe; he is usually possessed to pull them green,
thinking that if the fruit is full grown and has a red cheek it is
therefore ready to be plucked.

One would expect the best summer and fall apples to come from nearby
local orchards, but practically this is not the case because the
grower will not allow them to remain on the tree until they are fit.
Of course the really ripe apple will not keep long and it does not
stand rough handling, but this does not affect the fact that, for
eating, an apple should be naturally ripe. In every city, small or
large, a good trade can be built up for local ri