106 



highest quality for culinary and dessert purposes. The time 

 will vary according to the soil, its moisture content, the va- 

 riety of apple, the stock, the exposure and the purpose for 

 which the fruit is sold. Experience is necessary to deter- 

 mine this point, but there is less danger of picking too early 

 than too late. A fair test of ripeness is to lift the apple gen- 

 tly and twist it slightl3^ If it parts readily from the spur, 

 the apple is ripe enough to pick. If the apples are to be 

 placed in ordinary storage they should be picked earlier 

 than if they are to be put into cold storage. 



Harvesting. 



In picking apples handle them as carefully as eggs. Em- 

 ploy men who can pick with two hands. Great care should 

 be exercised not to detach the stems, because when a stem is 

 pulled out it breaks the skin; this allows the bacteria to 

 enter the apple, resulting in rot and disease in an otherwise 

 sound apple. Many markets refuse apples with 25 per cent, 

 of the stems missing. Equal care should be exercised in 

 picking apples to leave all fruit spurs unbroken upon the 

 limbs. Each broken spur means that several apples are 

 deducted from the next three or four years' crops. This is 

 an absolutely unnecessary loss, if due care is exercised. 

 Men should never be allowed to climb into the trees while 

 picking, especially young trees, because broken branches and 

 bruised limbs are bound to result from such a procedure. 

 Wounds and bruises upon the limbs constitute ideal condi- 

 tions under which canker diseases start and flourish. Light, 

 strong stepladders should be used for low trees; for taller 

 trees, light pointed ladders, which will fit into crotches in 

 the limbs, are better than straight or round ladders. Exten- 

 sion ladders are necessary for very tall trees. 



There are many kinds of picking bags, buckets and baskets 

 upon the market. Most growers prefer the oak, splint, half- 

 bushel basket which has a swinging bale, allowing the basket 

 to be lowered into the barrel or other receptacle and the con- 

 tents poured out without any danger of bruising the fruit. 

 The baskets should first be oiled, thus making them more 



