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One of the most practical ways of collecting pollen in quantity is to gather 

 the blossoms when they are in the balloon stage or just before the flov/ers open. 

 Blossoms in this condition can be picked rapidly just as the trees are comine; into 

 bloom. A convenient method is to use a fruit picking bucket slung from the 

 shoulders by straps so that flovrers can be picked with both hands. 



There are several methods cf removing the anthers or pollen bearing organs: 

 from the flowers. The anthers can be pulled off along with the petals by breaking 

 or twisting the unopened flower -A-ith the fingers. A faster and very effective v.ay 

 is to dump a handful of flowers on a screen having about eight meshes per inch and 

 gently rub the flowers back and forth so that the anthers are broken off and fall 

 through the screen to a suitable receptacle. With either of these methods 

 considerable quantities of torn petals and other floviev tissues are mixed with the 

 anthers. The anthers can then be easily cleaned of this "chaff" v;ith a small 

 sieve that v^ill just allow the anthers to pass through. A flour sieve used in 

 bread making equipped with a hand crank and agitator is v.-ell adapted icr the 

 purpose. 



The green anthers should then be spread out thinly on waxed or glazed paper 

 to ripen. Do not use ordinarj'- nev/spaper because it is fuzzy and much of the 

 pollen will adhere to the surface. The anthers should be ripened in a dry place 

 in sunlight before a window. Mild heat may be applied if sunlight is not available. 

 After about 2I4. hours the anthers should have ripened and split so that the pollen 

 appears as powdery yellovj- dust. 



The dried anthers shedding the pollen may be stored in small glass bottles 

 containing one-half to one ounce. Pollen is a living material; it respires, and 

 if stored in large quantities or under warm or moist conditions it will heat up 

 and lose its viability. It should be kept cool and drj'-. If the bottles are 

 stoppered, cotton plugs should be used. Storing the bottles in a dessicator held 

 at about 36°F. v;ould be ideal. If such equipment is not available, keep the 

 bottles Yihere these conditions vfill be most nearly met. In any case, under 

 ordinary conditions, it is not advisable to keep pollen more than a week from the 

 time it is dried until it is used. 



One of the most practical vrays of applying pollen is to spread it on the 

 flower with a small brush of camel's hair with bristles about 3/14- inch long and a 

 6-inch handle. The brush is dipped in the container holding the pollen so that 

 some of the powdery yellow dust adheres to the bristles, then daubed lightly upon 

 the center of the apple floxTOrs so that the stigmas come in contact with the 

 bristles. It is necessary to pollinate only one or two flowers in every Uth or 

 5th cluster on a full blossoming apple tree. Under conditions vihen insects fly, 

 pollen vri-ll be spread from the hand-pollinated cluster to other parts of the tree . 

 The small vdde mouth bottles commonly used for individual servings of coffee cream 

 in restaurants make excellent containers for carrying the pollen in the orchard. 

 A small strip of gauze can be sewed tightly around the neck of such a bottle and 

 this pinned vfith a safety pin to the operator's shirt. Such an arrangement, makes 

 for convenience in getting around through the tree, and decreases the chances of 

 tipping containers and v;asting pollen. 



The time spent on a tree depends on its; size. For a 20-year old Mcintosh 

 tree capable of bearing 2^ bushels. If; to 20 minutes per tree should be adequate. 

 Of this about half the time should be spent on the ground and the rfmainder in the 

 top of the tree, either using a step ladder or climbing into the tree. As a 



