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sticks, picker tapes, and cups for water. 



The crew is informed by the foreman what trees to pick and that they must ask 

 hira before moving to the next tree. Pickers are instructed by foremen to first 

 pick up the drops, pick one corner of the tree and then place the ladder gently in 

 this area. The foreman or pickers line up the boxes by the tree to be harvested - 

 not underneath or in roadways. The foreman instructs the picker to stick one 

 serrated section from the pickers tape in one box in the row of harvested fruit. 

 This identifies the picker of these apples. The foreman records the number on the 

 pickers tape, which is the number assigned the picker, and the number of bushels 

 harvested. 



Bruise Counts 



Bruise counts are recorded by a woman hired for this purpose. She has a 

 check list on which is written each foreman's name and the pickers' numbers. The 

 counter examines the fruit that has been picked the longest. A box from each 

 picker is chosen at random and each apple is examined for bruises, pulled stems, 

 cuts, and stem punctures. Bruises of all sizes are recorded. When the count for 

 the crew is completed, the information is given to the foreman and recorded. The 

 foreman observes the harvest technique and makes suggestions to any man having 

 more than 10 bruises per box. He will devote considerable time with the picker 

 having 25 or 30 bruises per box. Also, the counter will immediately examine 

 another box of any person with high bruise counts. Perhaps the picker was 

 finishing the top of a tall tree which might account for the large number of 

 bruises. 



Two high bruise counts for an individual picker is brought to the grower's 

 attention. He will try to correct the difficulty and the checker will make bruise 

 counts twice on the fruit harvested by this person in the afternoon or the next 

 morning, whatever the case may be. If the picker continues to damage the fruit, 

 it is his final day of work. 



No maximum is set for pulled stems. The grower is not concerned with 5 or 6 

 pulled stems per box, but if they run 20 or more, an attempt is made to correct 

 the difficulty. 



Leveling 



This grower reports that leveling is his big problem and that it is difficult 

 to obtain and keep levelers. It seems to bother women's knees or backs. In the 

 future he plans to use some of the poorer pickers for the leveling job. 



The levelers are given the following printed instructions. 



(a) Level oldest-picked apples first. 



(b) Shake the box gently. 



(c) Level as shown. 



(d) Keep boxes in a row if possible. 



(e) Return leveling stick at night. 



(f) Report poor apples to foremen. 



There is usually one leveler per crew of pickers. Levelers, also, must be 

 watched to prevent rough handling. 



