198 Appendix. 



turned a light brown, and before they become dark around the edges,, 

 will be found to have not only full flavor, but the best keeping quality. 

 But red apples are often left for some time after the seeds indicate 

 maturity to allow them to put on more color, which they do rapidly 

 under the influence of the bright days and frosty nights of autumn; 

 and indeed this is the only way of obtaining color on fruit in the shady 

 portions of the tree. Growers should bear in mind, however, that to 

 defer picking after the seeds indicate ripeness, invites watercore and 

 shortens the life of the fruit in storage, often to a serious extent with 

 the mid-winter varieties. Much of the complaint recently lodged against 

 the Jonathan because of rotting at the core is doubtless attributable to 

 late picking. Unless this trouble is corrected the sale of this valuable 

 variety is sure to be hui"t. The purchaser is completely deceived by the 

 perfect appearance of the fruit, not a sign of decay being visible until 

 it is cut open, when the flesh for some distance about the core is dis- 

 covered to be brown, radiating in narrow rays toward the skin, which, 

 however, it seldom reaches. It is worse than a worm hole, for that can 

 be cut out. A box containing even a few of this sort of apples makes 

 the consumer distrustful of the variety, while half or more sickens even 

 the most enthusiastic friend of "Brother Jonathan." 



DEVICES FOR PICKING. 



Ladders. — It costs money to step on a ladder, as the orchard owner 

 soon finds, and all that can reasonably be done by pruning to start the 

 head of the tree low and keep it low, is a paying investment. It should 

 be possible for several years to gather a large percentage of the crop 

 from the ground, or with a very low ladder. Nevertheless you can 

 scarcely make a dwarf tree by any amount of pruning, and in every apple 

 orchard ladders of some kind soon become a necessity. Climbing about 

 among the branches of a tree is always to be deprecated. Mr. E. H. 

 Shepard, of Hood River, tells me that he once counted forty-three fruit 

 spurs on the ground under one tree in which pickers had been climbing. 

 Of all the numerous styles of ladders, some form of stepladder is best 

 adapted to the orchard, whether the welfare of the tree is considered, 

 or the comfort of the picker. Any ladder which must be set against the 

 tree is a constant m.enace to it. 



Receptacles. — In the matter of picking receptacles the greatest diver- 

 sity prevails. Buckets, baskets and bags have each their devotees, and 

 one man tells me he provides his pickers with coal scuttles. The latter, 

 however, suggest pouring a little too strongly, and such rough treat- 

 ment is not to be thought of, any more than with eggs. Buckets are 

 more commonly used than baskets, largely perhaps because they are 

 easier to obtain, but both are awkward to handle compared with bags. 

 A lining of burlap greatly improves them, though it should not cause 

 any relaxation of care in placing the fruit in them. Bags are open to 

 the objection that the fruit in them is easily bruised if the bag brushes 

 against a limb or ladder. In many styles of bags it is unhandy to re- 



