LADDERS AND FRUIT GATHERERS. 



385 



Section 3. — Ladders and Fruit Gatherers. 



Ladders. — Of these there are many kinds. For the 

 fruit garden, where the trees are low, the self-supporting 

 ladder (fig. 151) is the most convenient and best. It 

 should be made of light w^ood, with flat steps, so that a 

 pei'son can stand upon them and 

 work. The back, or supports, con- 

 sist of one or two light pieces of tim- 

 ber, fixed at the top with hooks and 

 straps so as to be contracted or ex- 

 tended at pleasure. A ladder of this 

 kind, six or eight feet high, will an- 

 swer all the demands of a garden. 



Orchard Ladders are of various 

 kinds. For pruning or gathering the 

 fruit from lofty trees, a great length 

 of ladder is necessary ; it is there- 

 fore desirable that the material be as 

 light as possible consistent with the necessary strength. 



Sometimes these long ladders are composed of several 

 smaller ones, that fit into one another, all mounted on a 

 frame with a small wheel, by which they are easily 

 moved about. 



The Folding Ladder is a very neat and convenient 

 article for many purposes. The inside of the styles is 

 hollowed out, and the steps are fastened to them by means 

 of iron pins, on which they turn as on hinges, so that the 

 two sides can be brought together^ th-e steps turning into 

 the grooves or hollows in them, the whole appearing like 

 a round pole, B. It is more easily carried and placed 

 w^here wanted than the ordinary ladder. A represents it 

 open, and B closed (fig. 152). 



There are also sclf-svpjyorting orchard ladders,^ com- 

 17 



Fig. 151. 

 Self-supporting ladder. 



