Picking the Fruit 259 



dition of the stem. With such varieties as the Fameuse 

 (Snow) and Mclntosh, which have a habit of dropping 

 more or less, we feel justified in running some risk in wait- 

 ing for the fruit to color, even though the dropping indi- 

 cates that the fruit should be picked. With such varieties 

 as the Rails (Geneton) and the Winesap it would be folly 

 to wait for the stem to loosen, after the fruit has attained 

 size and color. 



Flavor is a character worth considering in picking apples, 

 as the fruit should begin to have some flavor before it is 

 harvested. However, the flavor of the apple improves 

 after picking, and allowing the apple to become eating 

 ripe on the tree shortens its life in storage. The red colors 

 improve little if any after picking, but the yellows im- 

 prove in storage. As an exception to this statement it 

 may be said that some summer varieties color after pick- 

 ing. These four indicators of maturity must be considered 

 together, and we cannot say that any one constitutes a 

 safe rule to follow. 



Apples are generally picked in canvas picking bags, but 

 buckets, baskets, and metal picking bags are used to some 

 extent. The fruit should be picked with the stems on. 

 The picker soon learns that by a certain tilting motion 

 the stem may be separated from the spur with no damage 

 to either. In some varieties the spurs are easily broken, 

 so that careless pickers will bear watching. As a rule, the 

 full crop is gathered at one picking, but there are cases 

 when it pays to make more than one picking. When the 

 fruit is ready to harvest, it is generally gathered regardless 

 of size, as apples gain little in size after they are really 

 ready to be picked. The fruit should be handled care- 



