FORTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 31 



We sometimes go through the first time, thinning a reasonable amount 

 and the second time just as soon as they will do for cooking, and in that 

 way we get them on the market. Many times in harvesting these we 

 will lay blankets on our wagons, which are low, and line them very 

 heavih'. Sometimes we do not pour them out, but simply pick them 

 out of the baskets. We generally keep in the shade of one of the trees 

 and pack them there for market, and they are taken directly to the 

 railroad and shipped. 



A few words now in reference to the harvesting of our winter crop. 

 If any of you have a question at any time you may ask it. In the har- 

 vesting of our late apple crop we use a little different method. If it 

 is possible, we avoid picking our winter apples when the weather is 

 hot or muggy, close or damp, but there are times when we cannot avoid 

 it; we have to get them^ off because they are ripe. Then we put them 

 into crates and get them at once into the cold storage house or into a 

 cool, shady place. We find the barn floor a good place. We never want 

 to barrel our apples or put them into a package when they are warm or 

 damp. I am satisfied that many of us have been making a serious mis- 

 take in this line. We have passed places where apples were picked and 

 lying on the ground. I know of no quicker way to destroy a larger per 

 cent of your apple crop than by putting them on the ground. It causes 

 premature decay. If picked at the proper time and put in cold storage, 

 they can be held in perfect condition much longer than you anticipate. 

 I want to make this a strong point this afternoon. Don't lay them on 

 the ground. The change in temperature and the moisture in the soil 

 will make decay set in at once, and when you come to put your apples 

 in storage you will find they are ready to go on the table. So let us 

 make this a point to be observed. I might just say a word or two 

 further in reference to picking our apples and handling them. If we 

 have a large lot to handle, as a good many have, we like to divide our 

 help into groups. We don't like to have too many in one squad. I 

 notice when we get one or two men together we get pretty good service, 

 but .if we get too many together they seem unable to plan or manage 

 just right, and there is not much work accomplished, so we like to 

 divide them into squads of six or eight. But above all things, we do 

 not want to hire our fruit picked by the bushel. While possibly we 

 can get more bushels off by this means, we find that we also get far 

 less returns for this fruit when put on the market. We have one of 

 the squad serve as foreman of the orchard, and then visit each squad as 

 often as possible. If we hear an apple dropping into the basket or on 

 to the ground, we try to find out the cause. I realize an occasional one 

 is dropped through no fault of the picker, but sometimes a picker is 

 careless. Now if it is a light apple, like Grimes' Golden or the Yel- 

 low Transparent, you will notice in a few days where it dropped. Then 

 in the picking we find there is a tendency among some of the pickers to 

 not use the care they should to separate the apples from the spur, and some 

 will tear off too much foliage or damage the body of the tree. By 

 using a little care they can take hold of the apple and with a little up- 

 ward lift separate it from the stem, but if they pull them down they 

 sometimes damage the tree. It will take longer to pick a bushel, but 

 the apples are worth something when you get them. We can never ex- 

 pect to get the prices that the Western producers do unless we handle the 

 fruit like they do. I believe we ought to send them a vote of thanks 



