your Cherries, and make them
looke blacke: if there be any ripe Cherries which hang out of the reach
of your hands, then you shall haue a fine small gathering hooke of
woode, whose bout shall be made round, and smooth, for nipping the barke
of the branches, and with it you shall gently pull vnto you those
branches you cannot reach: you shall also haue a little round basket of
almost a foote deepe, made with a siue bottome, hauing a handle thwarte
the toppe, to which a small hooke being fastned, you shall with that
hooke hang the basket by you on some conuenient cyon, and as you gather
the Cherries, gently lay them downe into the same, and when you haue
filled your basket you shall descend and empty it into larger great
baskets made of the same fashion, with siue bottomes, and hauing
vnderneath two broad lathes or splinters, at least three fingers broad a
peece, within foure inches one of the other, and going both one way
crosse ouerthwart the basket, that if either man or woman shall carry
them vpon their heads, which is the best manner of cariage, then the
splinters may defend the bottome of the basket from the head of the
party, and keepe the Cherries from hurt or bruising, and if you haue
occasion to carry your Cherries farre, and that the quantitie grow
beyond the support of a man, then you shall packe them in hampers or
panniers made with false bottoms like siues, and finely lyned on the
out side with white straw, and so being closely trust on each side a
Horses-backe, to carry them whether you please. You shall by no meanes
suffer your Cherries to lye in any great or thicke heapes one vpon
another, but vntill you sell them, or vse them, lay them as thinne as
may be, because they are apt of themselues to sweat and catch heate, and
that heate doth soone depriue them of the glory of their colour. When
you gather any Cherries to preserue, you shall gather those which are
the greatest, the ripest, you shall pull them from their stalkes one by
one, and vse them at furthest within xxiiij. howers after the time they
are gotten.

{SN: The gathering of stone Fruit.}
{SN: Of gathering hard Plumbes.}
{SN: Of keeping of Plumbes.}
For the gathering of Plumbes in generall, it is in the same manner as
you did gather your Cherries, both with such a like ladder, such a like
hooke, and such like vessels, onely some more speciall obseruations are
to be obserued in gathering your dainty grafted Plumbes, then of the
others, which are