PICKING 269 



A three-legged stepladder with or without a pointed top is favored 

 by some growers. Common ladders of various lengths are also used. 



A practical ladder similar to the common ladder, but having a 

 flaring base and coming to a point at the top, is thought by many 

 orchardists to be the best picking-ladder. A single pole with rounds 

 and a flaring base has also been recommended. Apparatus to 

 help the operator reach the fruit more easily are increasing every 

 year, but many individuals are not using any of the newer devices. 

 Most fruit-growers still cling to ordinary stepladders or the larger 

 painters' ladders, with an occasional modification. 



Picking-poles are sometimes used, but are far from common 

 among the commercial growers. One such pole has a wire basket 

 mounted on one end ; the top of the basket is open to permit the 

 entrance of the apple, the stem and twig working down between 

 the wire fingers on the side, and the operator twisting the pole to 

 the left or the right to sever the stem from the twig. The apple 

 must then be removed from the wire basket. Another pole which 

 operates in the same way has a wire basket with half the top open 

 at one side. Still another pole picker severs the stem, and permits 

 the fruit to drop down through a cloth tube to the operator or 

 into a basket on the ground or attached to the handle. The chief 

 objections to this kind of picker are that it is liable to bruise the 

 apples and is slow to work with, thus increasing the cost of picking. 



Organization of the picking force. Organization of the picking 

 force in any orchard is of vital importance. For greatest efficiency, 

 there should be but one head, or boss, who has full command of 

 the pickers. 



The picking force should not be allowed to stray away from their 

 particular gang of which the boss is the center. The work of the 

 crew should start at one side of the orchard, taking a certain num- 

 ber of rows of trees, and proceed steadily through these rows to 

 the other side of the orchard. Then another definite set of rows 

 should be picked. If more than one picking is to be given, or if 

 the varieties are mixed in the orchard, slight modifications of this 

 method may be necessary. However, the general scheme of organ- 

 ization is to work systematically by having the pickers grouped 

 together under one boss, and equipped with ladders, baskets, and 

 the other apparatus necessary for quick and efficient picking. 



