WINTER MEETING AT CARTHAGE. 151 



GATHERING APPLES FOR SHOW. 



A few suggestions about gathering the apples for the World's Fair may be of 

 Boine benetit to those who may be assigned to this \vorl<, as only those who have 

 done this work know the hardships and responsibilities that underlie such work. 

 If 1 could have had an outline of the following experience when I was appointed as 

 one of the committee of Holt county to gather fruit for the St. Louis fruit show, 

 and started out properly titted out, I would not have lost my tirst day's work : 



Each committee should be prepared with a team, spring wagon and two lad- 

 ders, in lengths to suit the trees. 1 have used for fifteen or twenty years a ladder 

 made of willow or basswood pole, by putting a band around the end and shove it 

 so it will fit in the fork of a limb. Kip or 8pli.t and spread at the bottom eighteen 

 inches or two feet. You can set this ladder in the fork of a very small limb, as it 

 presses against the limb, and be perfectly safe. It will not turn with you. You 

 a&n shove this ladder through the tree tree laden with apples. As the point is 

 only 2X3 it will spread the branches as the spread of the ladder goes up. 



Two persons should go to the orchard. There should be two of this com- 

 mittee in each township, or at least eight or ten in each county. They should be 

 appointed in time to prepare their outfit and ladders before the busy work of 

 spring sets in. These committees should be provided with paper sacks of differ- 

 ■ent sizes, according to size of the apples, tissue paper cut different sizes to wrap 

 the apples in. These sacks or square papers for sacking or wrapping the apples in 

 should be manufactured in bulk by the State and distributed among the local socie- 

 ties and they distribute them to the committees they appoint. 



Now we want a basket with a hook to hang on a limb— a rope to let the bas- 

 ket down to the man on the ground ; next we want a room prepared with tables 

 large enough to hold three or four days' gathering, and then sort them and carefully 

 put those that will do to send away and bring in another lot, sort again, and so on 

 until you have quite a lot together. Now three or four of these township commit- 

 tees get all the selections together and sort again and ship, and continue this 

 through the summer. 



The reason it is so slow and tedious to gather these apples is, we should be care- 

 ful in getting through the trees, not to knock down or waste any more apples than 

 we can help ; always examine the apple before we pull it ; as many — yes, very many 

 nice-looking apples that would make first-class shipping apples will not do to send 

 to the fair. We can't depend on the farmers to bring them to us when they come 

 to town : they won't take time to gather them ; one can get over but few trees in 

 half a day, and they are not prepared to handle them, and they may not do for the 

 fair. 



Breaking the velvet coating or varnish by rubbing hurts the apple as much 

 as a bruise. I believe berry-crates and boxes will do to ship the apples to Chicago. 

 They can be easily packed in these boxes so they can't move without much press- 

 ing ; nail up same as berries ; you can pack them six or eight deep in the car and 

 they can't bruise or mash, nor even move if properly packed, even if the crate 

 should be turned upside down. These same boxes will do to carry the apples from 

 the orchard to the sorting-room. Boxes on the order of egg-cases would do for 

 shipping. Respectfully, 



Wm, Brodbeck. 



