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BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



such varieties picking has to be timed with reference to this 

 bad habit. Fruit must be picked early enough to prevent 

 its falling. Other varieties which hold on well, like Baldwin 

 and Spy, may be picked when they are at their best. There 

 has been a good deal of argument as to just when an apple 

 should be picked, but recent experiments show that apples 

 which are ripe and fully colored keep better in storage than 

 those which are picked earlier. 



This matter of having apples fully grown, ripe and thor- 

 oughly colored is of so much importance that some growers 

 who make a specialty of fancy fruit have adopted the practice 

 of picking over the tree two or three times. Those apples 

 which are mature and colored are taken off at each picking, 

 while those which are yet green are left. These green apples 



Homemade Fruit Wagon for handling Barrels. 



increase in size rapidly, and take on the proper color eventu- 

 ally. The men who have tried this method say that it pays 

 well. 



In handling the fruit in the orchard, between the trees 

 and the storage room, or, later, between the storage and the 

 shipping station, some suitable wagon ought to be provided. 

 A stone boat is sometimes used, and is not the worst thing 

 that could be found, especially for short hauls and small 

 loads. It is better, however, to have one of the low-down 

 wagons, made especially for handling fruit. In the illustra- 

 tion one is shown as it was actually made up at home. 

 Some sills were hung by strap irons from the front and rear 

 axles of a common wagon frame, and on these some boards 

 were laid, making a floor for carrying the barrels. Han- 



