238 



PICKING AND HANDLING FRUIT 



separates easily, when some of the apples even begin to fall, 

 then there is little danger of their being too green. The color 

 of the seeds is another point usually given, but it is really seldom 

 resorted to. If the seeds are examined they should be a good 

 brown color, as a rule, before the apple is fit to pick. There are 

 exceptions to this rule, for some varieties are still immature 

 when the seeds are brown and others are fairly edible while the 

 seeds are still very light colored, but these exceptions are rare. 



FIG. 115. Picking apples from well-loaded trees. Apple trees carrying a full crop cannot 

 be thinned enough to carry their fruit without danger unless they are propped. 



In the operation of picking the apple, if the thumb is placed 

 beside the joint between the stem and the spur, and then the fruit 

 is bent towards the thumb with a quick motion, the joint will 

 usually break readily. This requires a little practice, but once 

 acquired ~the good picker will harvest very few spurs. The 

 apple should always be picked with the stem on, as where the 

 stem is pulled out it breaks the flesh and allows disease germs to 

 enter. This is a point frequently overlooked by careless pickers 

 and ought to be insisted on by the foreman. It is frequently 

 a good plan to make more than one picking of a variety. With 



