86 Appendix. 



There are many picking devices, patented and otherwise, but perhaps 

 the most generally satisfactory way is to use deep, galvanized iron pails 

 holding twelve or fourteen quarts and a stout hook to hang them to a limb. 

 The one point of prime importance is to get the apples gathered without 

 bruising, and to do this they must be handled like eggs and not poured like 

 potatoes. With the buckets the foreman can instantly tell by the sound if 

 a picker is dropping the fruit into them. In emptying, the bucket is set 

 down next the box and with both hands the picker or sorter quickly trans- 

 fers the fruit. If sufficient help is at hand the fruit can be sorted more 

 quickly and cheaply at this time than at any other. Apples should be 

 cool as possible when hauled to the packing shed or storage room. When 

 weather conditions will permit, it is a good plan to do the hauling in the 

 morning, leaving the afternoon picking stacked up under the trees to cool 

 over night. 



The best laiders are the self-supporting styles of stepladders. Do not 

 use a ladder that must be leaned against the tree except for the apples high 

 in the top that can not be reached otherwise, and then only after the others 

 have all been gathered. 



HAULING. 



A low truck with a solid, wide platform sloping slightly to the center so 

 the boxes will not slide off, is the most convenient vehicle for hauling the 

 boxes from the orchard to the packing shed. If to be hauled any distance, 

 as to the shipping station, bolster springs should be provided. 



PACKING. 



The first step is sorting and wiping. Provide the sorters with cotton 

 gloves or mittens made of Turkish toweling, and they can< wipe all apples 

 that need it as they sort. It is not advisable to wipe the apple unless they 

 are dirty or marked with spray. Grade to three or four sizes for convenience 

 in packing. About equal quantities of the two sizes of boxes, the "stand- 

 ard" and the "special" will be needed. The paper required is the lining 

 paper, pink, red or white, as preferred, the blue cardboard for layers and 

 an assortment of wrapping paper; 10x10 sheets for the largest apples, 8x10 

 for medium and 8x8 for small. Only first-class apples should be wrapped, 

 and the cardboard need be used only for long distance shipment or storage. 

 The diagonal pack, the two two, and three two, should be used wherever 

 possible, as the fruit is bruised less by this method than by any other, 

 and also it is easier to secure a firm pack and a proper bulge to the box. 

 Good packing requires training and experience, and is nearlj^-one-half the 

 battle in marketing the fruit. A nailing press is essential in nailing on 

 the box covers. 



• MARKETING. 



Wherever possible this should be done through a fruit growers' union. 

 The individual, unless he has a very large orchard, is at a disadvantage; 

 the reasons are too obvious to need mentioning in an article of this kind. 

 The matter is no longer an experiment; the details have all been worked 

 out by the several strong organizations now in existence in the State, and 

 the beginner can get all the information necessary. 



