THE NEW FRUIT GATHERER. 



179 



strong enough to bear the sway of half the 

 weight of the man and ladder together. 

 Far — far beyond the reach of the longest 

 arm, hang ripe, ruddy, tempting specimens 

 which are larger, fairer, sweeter, than any 

 that have yet fallen into our basket, well 

 laden though it may be. 



This is not the proper conduct of a domes- 

 ticated fruit tree, as we are told by the bo- 

 tanists all our orchard trees are. To bear 

 its finest specimens so provokingly out of 



reach, that their rightful owner cannot pos- 

 sibly gather them ! What can be the mean- 

 ing of it? Is this a wild and untamed 

 trait, which is not yet rooted out of our 

 most thorough-bred dindi civilized varieties? 



To be serious, there is a positive incon- 

 venience, that is felt by all cultivators of 

 fine fruit — we mean the difficulty of gather- 

 ing it from many parts of the tree ; which 

 because they are the thriftiest parts, always 

 furnish the best samples. 



Fig. 51. Tlie Neiv Fruit Gatherer in operation. 



Various kinds of fruit -pickers, little in- 

 struments affixed to poles, have been inven- 

 ted long ago, by which to overcome this in- 

 convenience. But they never quite sup- 

 plied the want. They were always trou- 



blesome and tedious in practice, and conse 

 quently they have never come into general 

 use. 



A few weeks ago, there was put into oui 

 hands an exceedingly neat and efficient little 



