322 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Fig. 



Scene on Thompson Fruit liant'li Allowing Type of Bucliet I'sed lor All I'iinds 



of Fruit. 



picker. Perhaps no work in tlie orchard 

 requires the exercise of more care and 

 good judgment than the work of picking. 

 A low step-ladder to be used in picking 

 the fruit just out of reach of a man stand- 

 ing on the ground and another tall enough 

 to reach the upper branches ot the large 

 trees will usually be sufficient. Various 

 types are illustrated. The tripod or three- 

 legged type, is by far the best adapted to 

 average conditions. 



Gl!.\NVILLE LowrllER 



Time to Pick 



Picking is one of the most important 

 phases of getting the apple upon the mar- 

 ket. It has a marked influence upon the 

 keeping qualities, color, size and flavor of 

 the fruit. Too much attention is frequent- 

 ly given to getting depth of color, and, as 

 a consequence, over-ripeness, caused by the 

 fruit hanging too long upon the tree, is 

 very often the result. The time of pick- 

 ing is influenced very markedly by the 

 variety, climate, soil, elevation, shipping 



distance, and season. Apples may be 

 divided, according to their condition at 

 maturity, into several different classes. 



Among the apples that drop when they 

 are ripe, we may mention the Grimes 

 Golden, Wagener. Wealthy and Winesap. 

 Other apples that drop before they are 

 ripe are such varieties as the Graven- 

 stein, Mcintosh and Snow. Many apples 

 that hang too long on the tree develop 

 core rot, and we find that the Jonathan, 

 Gravenstein, Delicious, and Ortley come 

 under this class. Others, if they hang 

 too long, get mellow or soft after pick- 

 ing, and have a short season of consump- 

 tion. In this class we would include such 

 apples as .Jonathan. King, and Baldwin. 

 Some varieties, such as Earlj- Harvest, 

 Duchess, Red Astrachan, and the Jona- 

 than are troubled with cracking at the 

 calyx. On the other hand, there are vari- 

 eties like the Spy and Ben Davis that 

 may hang after maturity before i)icking. 

 Summer apples should be picked green 

 for shipment. They should have some 



