EXERCISE 61 



HARVESTING AND GRADING APPLES 



Statement. The proper time for picking fall and winter apples is when the fruit has reached full 

 size and is well colored, but before it has begun to soften. Neither immature nor over-ripe fruit keeps 

 well in storage, and its eating qualities are not up to standard. Success in orcharding will in consider- j 

 able degree depend upon the skill and intelligence used in picking, grading, and packing the fruit. 



Object. To learn how to harvest and grade apples. 



Materials. Ladders ; picking sacks ; orchard crates ; grading table ; sizing board ; a well-sprayed 

 orchard laden with ripe fruit. 



Directions. Picking. Divide the class into squads of four each and assign each squad to a 

 block of trees. Have two students pick all the fruit that can be reached from the ground, have a 

 third pick from the ladder, and the squad leader direct the work under the guidance of the teacher and J 



the proprietor of the orchard. In,] 

 picking the fruit raise and turn each 

 apple slightly so as to avoid pull- 

 ing out the stem or breaking off the 

 fruit spur. If the stem is pulled j 

 out, the opening into the flesh of ] 

 the apple is likely to become in- | 

 fected with the organisms which i 

 cause it to decay. The fruit spurs ' 

 are the source of future crops and j 

 should be carefully guarded against 

 injury. Handle the fruit carefully ] 

 to avoid bruising, and as soon as j 

 a sack is filled its contents should ! 

 be carefully emptied into boxes. 



Grading. The apples are next 

 placed on the grading table, where j 

 they are graded for size, color, and | 

 blemishes. First remove all injured 

 or diseased fruits. Then, using the . 

 sizing board, which is graduated to I 

 one-eighth inch, separate the apples into the various sizes. Learn the standard of sizes demanded by j 

 the general market or for the special market for which you are grading and make the classification 1 

 conform to their requirements. These should, in turn, be graded for color so that each lot will consist | 

 of perfect specimens that are uniform in size and color. After the student's eye is trained, the sizing 

 board may be discarded and the grading be done by hand. 



Questions. Why should the fruit be handled carefully ? Of what value are the fruit spurs ? What 

 is the proper time for picking apples? Which separate from the spurs more readily, the ripened or tr 

 immature specimens ?* How does the grading for color affect the appearance of the apples ? Why shoulc 

 the diseased and injured fruits be removed? Why should apples be graded into the different sizes? 



References. Waugh, F.A. The American Apple Orchard, pp. 149-165. Orange Judd Company. Fletcher, 

 S. W. How to Make a Fruit Garden, pp. 131-135 (old). Doubleday, Page Company. Wilkinson, A. E. 

 The Apple, pp. 270-271. Ginn and Company. Waters, H. J. Essentials of Agriculture, pp. 274-275. Gir 

 and Company. 



[1221 



Fig. 86. Picking apples 

 No successful substitute for hand picking has been invented in harvesting apples, cot- 

 ton, and com. The sack is the best receptacle for the picked fruit 



