GENERAL PRACTICE. LADDERS. 



225 



square iron bar, 1 foot long, welded to, or drawn out and formed into a socket to take 

 a hardwood handle about 3 feet long, the lower end pointed. The other side is 1 foot 

 long, rounded at the top and sharpened at the bottom. Between these a J-inch iron plate 

 is fixed, 6 inches long, and 2| inches wide, hollowed | inch, with 1-inch ears on each 

 upper side. This, without the socket, driven into hardwood logs, and set at the angles 

 of quarters where the alleys join the gravel or other paths, forms an admirable 

 scraper. 



Ladders. In pruning and gathering fruit various lengths of ladder are required. 

 The chief desiderata in orchard ladders are strength and lightness combined with a 



Fig. 59. BARROWS, BASKET, SCRAPER, LADDER, AND STEPS. 



References .-Barrows : 1, market-garden, fruit, and pot ; 2, hand, for fruit ; 3, market-garden wheel ; 4, Sussex 

 trug basket ; 5, scraper, portable ; 6, slot-ladder ; 7, adjustable steps. 



good tread. This is important, so as to give a wide reach sideways, for without a good 

 footing the fruit-gatherer is hampered. The minimum breadth of tread should be 9 

 inches, increasing 3 inches for every 18 feet length downwards. Wide ladders are 

 exceedingly clumsy. The sides should be kept from shifting by an iron rod at every 6 

 feet, but one round only from the bottom and top, shouldered on the inside and secured 

 on the outside with octagon nuts. Bamboo ladders for low trees are extremely light, 

 strong, and inexpensive. 



Step-ladders are used for wall-trees. They should be light, the sides and board 

 steps formed of deal without knots, have a good tread, and fixed at an angle of 85, 

 calculating from the perpendicular downwards. Two iron spurs should be affixed to 



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