FRUIT HARVESTING OPERATIONS 19 



Day Labor. Unless an owner has help that he knows 

 to be reliable, it is not good policy to hire by the month 

 or by the box. The best results are obtained from day 

 labor. In such cases the workmen know they get so 

 much pay for so many hours work, and are not inclined 

 to hurry or to bruise or spoil the fruit. Occasionally, 

 some growers like to have the fruit picked by the tree 

 or on a contract job for the whole orchard. This very 



Fig. 14. A COMBINED ORCHARD AND DELIVERY WAGON FOR 

 SMALL ORCHARD 



often does not prove to the best interest of the producer. 

 Much of the fruit is spoiled, some of it is skipped and 

 left on the trees, while limbs are split down and the 

 trees generally despoiled. 



Small Fruits by Quart. Small fruits are most always 

 picked by the quart because there is always a foreman or 

 superintendent to inspect each quart as they come in, 

 and in case the workman is not picking properly he can 

 be dealt with at the time. 



Prices Paid. For small fruits the price varies per 

 quart in the different states and, in some cases, different 

 sections of the same state. In Xew Jersey, for straw- 



