HARVESTING AND MARKETING 127 



tober in the orchard pays for all the worry of 

 the other months. Whether it pays the bills of 

 the other months is still largely a question of 

 the success of the commission man. 



The methods of carrying on the work of pick- 

 ing apples will depend somewhat upon how the 

 trees have been pruned in past years. If they 

 have been grown as low-headed trees the work 

 will be much easier than if they had been al- 

 lowed to tower above the earth. The shape of 

 the trees will not affect the ease of the work, 

 but it will affect its cost and we fruit-growers 

 must come more and more to consider the cost. 



In almost any orchard a short ladder will be 

 of use, for even with low trees it is sometimes 

 impossible to gather all the fruit from the 

 ground or from the first crotches. Ladders 

 that taper to a point at the top are the easiest 

 to handle as they are lighter in weight and are 

 more inclined to ' ' stay put ' ' than are ordinary 

 straight-sided ladders. 



Growers often have their own ideas as to the 

 proper receptacle in which to pick. Some pre- 

 fer a sack of some sort, either one designed for 

 the purpose or a grain sack tied with a shoulder 

 strap. Others will use only baskets for pick- 

 ing and a few that I know insist that their pick- 

 ers use only tin pails. They say that if a care- 

 less picker "throws'' his fruit into the pail 

 they can hear it and eliminate the picker — sort 



