From what has already been said with regard to the process of ripening of fruits in the natural way upon the tree, it will be understood that we must gather some kinds before they have reached their perfect condition of maturity. There is a point at which they have obtained, from their connection with the parent tree, all the elements that are necessary to the development of their highest qualities. They may now be separated, not only with safety, but with decided advantage in many instances, as they are improved by the further process of maturation under different circumstances from those supplied by nature, and when properly treated, they will acquire a much finer condition as to delicacy and flavor than is ever reached by ripening upon the tree exposed to the light and air. This, it will be remembered, is not the case with all fruits; for, as has already been stated, there are those which must remain upon the tree until they acquire their most perfect ripeness, and which begin to depreciate in quality so soon as they are separated from their connection with the fruit-bearing twig. These need to be at once disposed of, and the consideration of the best means of transportation, is a question of more importance than any plans for their temporary preservation. They must be sold or used at once, and should be handled with the greatest care, packed in suitable boxes or baskets in the most judicious manner for a good display of their beauties, for their preservation from bruising and decay, and for sending them forward to their destination with the least possible delay: the details of these several parts of the business will be left for the exercise of the ingenuity of the parties most deeply interested. In the class of fruits which are so constituted as to bear and indeed to require picking, before they have reached the period of perfect ripeness we shall find several particulars that need consideration. First, it will be found that the proper time for gathering them varies considerably. Thus, with early apples and pears, a few days only embrace the best period, during which they may be gathered without becoming wilted if plucked too soon, or decaying if left too late. Even with winter fruits, we find that, to have them in perfection, some varieties require to be gathered much earlier than the time usually assigned for harvesting the general crop. It is somewhat singular also, that this course very considerably extends their time of keeping, and that some of those varieties which would become dry, mealy, and insipid, early in the winter, if gathered too late, will remain sound, firm, plump, and juicy, and retain all their fine flavor through the winter, if they have been taken from the tree at an earlier period of the season. They must be left upon the tree until properly developed, however, and then be carefully kept in a cool apartment.