50 FRUIT HARVESTING, STORING, MARKETING 



FIG. 9 — A HANDY HOME-MADE ORCHARD WAGON 



be used to advantage in this work, but for the most 

 part they have not been found very desirable. 



It may be said in passing that it is still the practice 

 in certain belated neighborhoods to gather fruit by 

 shaking it off the trees and picking it up from the 

 ground. There is no need of arguing against such a 

 way of doing things. As soon as this fruit is taken to 

 the open market the fruit buyer will furnish the most 

 emphatic of arguments against it. Such fruit will not 

 ship, will not keep, and will not sell. It is fit only for 

 immediate home consumption or for sale in remote 

 country markets where there is no business in fruits. ; 



In picking tree fruits ladders of some, sort are 

 usually desirable or necessary. For trees of moderate 

 size, such as most plums and peaches, a tall, light 

 step-ladder is usually best and most convenient. This 

 should be made with three legs, and not with four, as 



