14 



MODERN FRUIT MARKETING 



use a big ladder that two people will have to move. 

 The top end or point should be drawn together so as 

 to enable it to be pushed up through the limbs or the 

 branches. A square top on the ladder is always catch- 

 ing on the limbs and knocking off the fruit. The rungs 



are made as 

 large as possible, 

 because it is 

 tiresome work 

 for a picker to 

 stand all day on 

 small pins, and 

 the more one 

 can contribute 

 to the comfort 

 of the picker, 

 the better work 

 he will do. 



Disposition of 

 the Fruit. It 

 has been cus- 

 tomary among 

 the growers of 

 the Northern 



and Eastern states to put the apples on the ground in 

 piles, protected from the soil by a little straw. These 

 have been allowed to remain in the pile for several weeks, 

 and frequently have been graded and packed in barrels 

 direct from these piles. The argument in favor of this 

 method was that the fruit which had started to decay 

 would be discovered when it was regraded and could be 

 thrown out. This, however, no longer applies, because if 



Fig. 9. A CONVENIENT HOME-MADE PICK- 

 ING LADDER FOR LOW-HEADED TREES 



