Transporting fruit by water. If you be to transport your fruit farre by water, then prouide some dry hogges-heads or barrells, and packe in your apples, one by one with your hand, that no empty place may be left, to occasion sogging; and you must line your vessell at both ends with fine sweet straw; but not the sides, to auoid heat: and you must bore a dozen holes at either end, to receiue ayre so much the better; and by no meanes let them take wet. Some vse, that transport beyond seas, to shut the fruite vnder hatches vpon straw: but it is not so good, if caske may be gotten.
When not to transport fruit. It is not good to transport fruite in March, when the wind blowes bitterly, nor in frosty weather, neither in the extreme heate of Summer.
To conuay small store of fruit. If the quantity be small you would carry, then you may carry them in Dossers or Panniers, prouided they be euer filled close, and that Cherries and Peares be lined with greene Fearne, and Apples with sweete straw; and that, but at the bottomes and tops, not on the sides.
Roomes for fruite. Winter fruite must lye neither too hot, nor too cold; too close, nor too open: for all are offensiue. A lowe roome or Cellar that is sweet, and either boorded or paued, and not too close, is good, from Christmas till March: and roomes that are seeled ouer head, and from the ground, are good from March till May: then the Cellar againe, from May till Michaelmas. The apple loft would be seeled or boorded, which if it want, take the longest Rye-straw, and raise it against the walles, to make a fence as high as the fruite lyeth; and let it be no thicker then to keepe the fruite from the wall, which being moyst, may doe hurt, or if not moist, then the dust is offensiue.
Sorting of Fruit. There are some fruite which will last but vntill Allhallontide: they must be laid by themselues; then those which will last till Christmas, by themselues: then those which will last till it be Candlemas, by themselues: those that will last till Shrouetide, by themselues: and Pippins, Apple-Iohns, Peare-maines, and Winter-Russettings, which will last all the yeere by themselues.
Now if you spy any rotten fruite in your heapes, pick them out, and with a Trey for the purpose, see you turne the heapes ouer, and leaue not a tainted Apple in them, diuiding the hardest by themselues, and the broken skinned by themselues to be first spent, and the rotten ones to be cast away; and euer as you turne them, and picke them, vnder-lay them with fresh straw: thus shall you keepe them safe for your vse, which otherwise would rot suddenly.
Times of stirring fruit. Pippins, Iohn Apples, Peare maines, and such like long lasting fruit, need not to be turned till the weeke before Christmas, vnlesse they be mixt with other of a riper kind, or that the fallings be also with them, or much of the first straw left amongst them: the next time of turning is at Shroue-tide, and after that, once a moneth till Whitson-tide; and after that, once a fortnight; and euer in the turning, lay your heapes lower and lower, and your straw very thinne: prouided you doe none of this labour in any great frost, except it be in a close Celler. At euery thawe, all fruit is moyst, and then they must not be touched: neither in rainy weather, for then they will be danke also: and therefore at such seasons it is good to set open your windowes, and doores, that the ayre may haue free passage to dry them, as at nine of the clocke in the fore-noone in Winter; and at sixe in the fore-noone, and at eight at night in Summer: onely in March, open not your windowes at all.
All lasting fruite, after the middest of May, beginne to wither, because then they waxe dry, and the moisture gone, which made them looke plumpe: they must needes wither, and be smaller; and nature decaying, they must needes rot. And thus much touching the ordering of fruites.
FINIS.