216 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



September, 1913 



The wagon used in the orchard at La Trai>pe, Que Note the stronsr epringj used to protect 



the fruit from bruisee. 



their hands clear down into the baskets 

 until the apples can be placed carefully 

 upon the other apples already in the 

 baskets. Care must be exercised in all 

 points. After the picking crew is pro- 

 perly instructed it is absolutely neces- 

 sary to insist that these instrucrt;ions 

 are carried out to the letter at all times. 

 We find that a hook of wire in the 

 form of a letter S is a great help to 

 do work quickly and better, as then one 

 has his two hands with which to work. 

 One end of the hook catches the basket 

 and the other end a limb of the tree or 

 part of the ladder. 



The ladders we use are light but solid. 

 A great many fruit growers think that 

 any old barn ladder that you can lean 

 up against the trees will do all right, 

 but we must to-day adept modern ways 

 and equipment. Light ladders that are 

 convenient to carry and move around a 

 tree and so compact that they will be 

 easily placed between the limbs instead 

 of against them, should be used. They 

 should be strong so that they will last, 

 and give you also the feeling that you 

 can climb them safely, even with a bas- 

 ket full of apples. Avoid ladders that 

 lean up against a tree because they not 

 only break the limbs but the bark. Wher- 

 ever the bark is broken, an opening is 

 made where some of the many diseases 

 now prevalent will have a chance to en- 

 ter. We have tried types of ladders ad- 

 vertised in The Canadian Horticulturist, 

 and found them quite satisfactory. 



SOTiTTNG AND GRADINO 



Sorting and grading the apples should 

 be done with care, all apples b^ng 

 handled one at a time. We used to sort 

 our apples in the orchard and continue 

 to do so in the case of apples going into 

 barrels. But with such varieties as 

 Duchess, Wealthy, Mcintosh and Fam- 

 euse we think it better to do the sorting 



and grading in the packing house. We 

 shall mainly dwell here in our remarks 

 upon the grading of apples that are for 

 box packing, as our best tender varieties 

 are all going to be packed in boxes in 

 the near future. It seems really a pity 

 to put up fancy and number one Fam- 

 euse and Mcintosh apples in barrels, 

 now that we have begun to take to the 

 box. Of course we are speaking only 

 of the best grades as we never put on 

 the market our culls and number three 

 apples. These invariably go to our 

 cider mill or to our canning plant. We 

 still continue to put up in barrels the 

 number two grade. 



We think it best to sort the apples 

 before they go to the packing table, as 

 we are not yet trained enough to do good 



sorting and packing from the same pile 

 of apples on a table. It is certain that 

 it is less difficult for our young students 

 to pack the apples in boxes after they 

 are carefully graded beforehand. Also 

 it is presumed that a sorter, having only 

 one thing to perform, might be able to 

 do it better than a packer will, hav- 

 ing to pack the apples at the same time. 



After a basket is full the picker 

 empties very carefully the contents in 

 an orchard box, which is then put in 

 the express wagon, and after a load is 

 ready the apples are brought to the 

 packing house. Here we should insist 

 upon one point. Every grower intend- 

 ing to pack apples in boxes, should be 

 provided with orchard boxes. The only 

 way to deliver clean boxes to our cus- 

 tomers is to use orchard boxes. There 

 is nothing that spoils the reputation of 

 a grower more than a bad appearance 

 of his barrels or boxes. The orchard 

 box is made a little larger than the or- 

 dinary box and has cleats on the top so 

 that the apples may not be bruised when 

 the boxes are piled on top of one an- 

 other. These boxes will last long if well 

 cared for. 



Our sorting table is quite a long one, 

 so that apples may be put on the entire 

 length without piling them up too high 

 upon the canvas covering, thus avoiding 

 bruises. 



THE PACKING TABLE 



Our packing tables can accommodate 

 two men at a time. The boxes are in- 

 clined towards the packer in such a way 

 that he picks up each apple from the 

 table with the right hand and grasps the 

 wrapping paper with the other hand. 



We sort the apples in two grades only, 

 fancy and number one ordinary ; it will 

 not pay to pack more than two grades, 

 as every time that an extra grade is 



The Packing Table, Paper Holder, Baiket and Box Pre»» •• U«ed at La Trappe 



In a not* Father Leopold adds: "The latter was bought through ad adTertieement in 



The 



Oajia^iian Hortioalturist. 



