THE APPLE 59 



injury. The fruit should be picked by hand into baskets 

 suspended by hooks to the ladder or to a branch near 

 where the ladder is placed, be taken to the ground and 

 carefully placed in piles or in barrels or boxes, to be 

 carried to some cool place for packing. It requires 

 some skill to do so simple a thing as to pick apples 

 properly. If the stem is pulled out, the beauty of the 

 fruit is injured, as well as its keeping qualities. If the 

 apples are pulled off, the spur with its fruit buds is 

 often broken and the crop for the next year destroyed. 

 In picking, the thumb or forefinger is placed against 

 the stem and the apple turned completely over, when, 

 with the pressure of the finger, the stem separates from 

 the tree at the proper place, and neither tree nor fruit 

 is injured. 



For picking tender fleshed varieties, like the Pal- 

 mer Greening, Fameuse, etc., the basket should be lined 

 with burlap, or some other cloth, to prevent bruising. 

 For picking specimens beyond the reach of the ladder, 

 some of the hand pickers are very serviceable. For 

 getting into the tops of large trees long ladders 

 are indispensable, and several lengths should be in 

 readiness, all made of straight 

 grained, light lumber and well 

 seasoned. All ladders should be 

 thoroughly painted and be kept 

 housed when not in use, other- 

 wise they decay very rapidly, and 

 a weak ladder is a dangerous 

 thing to work with. Extension, 

 ladders are found very conven- 

 ient. The common stepladder 



will be found indispensable, es- Fig. SS-Orchard stepladder 



pecially for the low branches 



and low-headed trees. One of the best forms of step- 

 ladders is shown in Figure 35. The two main legs of the 



