GATHERING CROP FROM THE COMMERCIAL ORCHARD. 297 



GATHERING THE INCREASING CROP FROM THE 

 COMMERCIAL ORCHARD. 



W. S. WIDMOYER, DRESBACH. 



To gather the increasing crop of apples from the commercial 

 orchard, one must have the proper tools ready in good season. These 

 consist of baskets or bags to pick in, ladders of various lengths to 

 reach the fruit, and if one packs his own fruit he will need a sort- 

 ing chute, barrels, heading press and hatchet, head lines and extra 

 hoops. 



L,adders for use in the orchard. 



For gathering the common round half bushel splint basket, with 

 drop handle, is the most convenient. They should be lined inside 

 with burlap to prevent the fruit from bruising. The picking bag is 

 a common grain bag with a stiff wire around the open end and a 

 wide strap fastened at the top and bottom to carry it with. The 

 strap is put over the shoulder, the open end of bag in front, which 

 leaves both hands free to work with. I prefer the basket except 

 when picking in the tops of tall trees, when the bag is most conveni- 

 ent. For ladders, the common step-ladders do very well for the 

 lower limbs but are not the thing for the higher branches. For 

 these a single stick ladder is used a great deal in the "Ozark" region. 

 My objection to them is they bark the trees too much unless handled 

 very carefully. About the best ladder for this work is a narrow 



