THE MONTHLY BULLETIN, 463 



sheets when spread out should cover from twenty-four to forty feet 

 square. It is false economy to use a sheet too small for your trees. 

 Almonds will be continually knocked off the sheet on to the ground, 

 thereby increasing the cost of gathering, to say nothing of the many 

 nuts that will not be picked up and thus become a total loss. The 

 methods of using almond sheets vary with the whims and ingenuity of 

 the users. Some spread the sheet beneath the tree, knock the almonds, 

 and either box or sack the product of each tree, direct from the sheet. 

 If but few nuts are obtained some drag both sheet and nuts to the next 

 tree before sacking, to save time. Another and better way is to have 

 a sled 16 feet long, about 40 inches wide and 6 inches high, with a tight 

 bottom. Have one end of the sheet tacked to one side of the sled. 

 Have boxes ranged inside sled along the side next to sheet and when 

 sheets are emptied the almonds go directly into the boxes. Another 

 and still better way is to have a 16-foot pole sewed into a part of 

 one end of each sheet and have that pole on arms so hinged to the sled 

 that the sheet may be used on either side of the sled. In this way two 

 rows can be gathered at once and thus save time in moving. While 

 boxes are largely used to move almonds from the orchard to the almond 

 shed, they are expensive and deteriorate rapidly. Their hauling and 

 the gathering up of surplus boxes consume time. Time is money in 

 the almond business as well as elsewhere. 



Many growers u.se grain bags. They are easily carried on the sled, 

 cost but little to distribute and there are no stragglers to gather up. 

 When bags are used, dump almonds into sled and have one man shovel 

 them into a sack, using a simple device for holding the sack, while the 

 others are knocking the next tree. If you are in the grain business as 

 well as almond growing, use new sacks for your almond work. After 

 the season is over put the sacks away carefully and use them for grain 

 the following year. In that way the sacks for almond use cost you 

 nothing save the interest on the first investment. 



One good heavy horse will pull an almond sled from tree to tree and 

 save much of the M-ear and tear incident to dragging sheets over the 

 ground. If you employ labor you will find it not averse to having the 

 horse do what men would otherwise be expected to do. 



Gathering. 



To knock the almonds from the tree good, tough, springy poles should 

 be used. The poles should be as light as consistent with the service 

 expected. A tamarack or fir pole 16 to 24 feet long and about 1^ 

 inches in diameter at the butt is an ideal pole for knocking almonds. 

 Take the bark off while green. If too heavy at the butt end shave it 

 down so that it can be easily handled. Tie in bundles to keep straight 

 and store inside the house. With proper care and careful handling, a 

 good pole will last several seasons. Sawed Oregon pine lumber is some- 

 times used for poles, and if good lumber is obtained the result is a 

 good pole. Hickory, too, is used with good results. Bamboo has been 

 tried, but while easy to handle, cracks so badly when exposed to the sun 

 that it can hardly be considered a success. Have your crew use poles 

 of different lengths. One or two very long poles is all that is needed 

 at a tree. Almonds on the lower limbs can be gathered more cheaply 

 with short poles. If the trees be old and extremely high, have a man 

 eiimb into the upper limbs with a short pole. 

 4—13.557 



