1, Pickers equipped with a metal picking bucket vjith caiivas bottora. 

 Pickers divided into crews of tvjelve to fifteen men with a competent foreman 

 for each crew. Specific instructions given each crew on how to pick with a 

 minimum of bruises. One person, usually a woman, who takes a sample of apples 

 from boxes harvested by each picker at least twice during the day and checks 

 samples for bruises and stem punctures. In one orchard with a large number of 

 pickers it was necessary to employ two women to check bruises. 



Pickers causing excessive bruising are reported to foreman of the crew 

 who shows picker how to correct his method of picking. 



2, Pickers divided into crew;^ as desc. ibed above. 



Each picker equipped with a splint basket with hook attached. Pickers 

 take filled baskets to central location in area being picked. Crew of women 

 transfer apples by hand from baskets to field boxes and also eliminate culls. 

 Excessive bruising by any picker can be noted and corrected. 



3, Pickers divided into crews as described above. 



Each picker equipped with a canvas strap which he attaches to a peach basket 

 so that basket is suspended from one shoulder. Filled peach baskets trucked to 

 mechanical grader where apples are immediately segregated into grades and sizes 

 and then stored. Foreman keeps close watch on extent of bruising by the pickers. 

 Transferring apples from picking container to field box is eliminated by this 

 method. V'ith each of the methods described the pickers were paid on an hourly 

 basis. 



The charts on page 7 show the records from two orchards. Orchard #1 is 

 representative of orchards with a minimum amount of bruising while orchard #2 

 is representative of orchards with maximum nmount of bruising. 



In these charts the number of apples in the classification: "Number of 

 apples with few small bruises" is of relatively little importance as the amount 

 of bruising is not sufficient to affect the grade. However, there is a signifi- 

 cant correlation between the number of apples v;ith fev; small bruises and the 

 number \-jith 1/2" bruises. 



The number of apples with 3/4" - 1" bruises and 1" bruises and over was not 

 recorded. However, the number of apples in each of these classifications is 

 practically identical with the number of bruises. 



In orchard i*/! the procedure described in method 1 above was employed. The 

 production of all apples in this orchard was approximately 25,000 bushels. The 

 pickers were paid on an hourly basis. 



