PICKING FRUIT.—WHEN TO PICK. 55 
Baldwin is one of the first to suffer. The remedy lies 
chiefly in growing windbreaks. Prairie climates are 
especially destructive, and any natural protection for the 
orchard should be eagerly sought. 
CHAPTER XV. 
PICKING FRUIT.—WHEN TO PICK. 
I know of no pleasanter transition than that of turn- 
ing from the elaborate stagings, ladders and fruit-pickers 
often described in fruit books, to the simple and easy 
methods of fruit harvesting practiced by successful grow- 
ers. ‘There are three things essential to safe and rapid 
apple picking : an ordinary light step-ladder, a couple of 
half-bushel, round bottom, handled baskets, with a hook 
on the handles, and a smart boy who is not afraid to 
climb. ‘The ladder is the least essential article of the 
three. If trees are properly pruned, they will allow a 
man with a basket to enter the top. An ordinary iron 
hook will serve to hang the basket on a limb while it is 
being filled. Apple limbs are strong, and they will hold 
a boy or man more safely than is generally supposed. As 
a general thing, a boy is afraid to venture far, but a little 
training will enable him to climb well. Nor is it essen- 
tial that the boy should be exceedingly young and. light 
in order to reach most of the apples on a high tree. It 
is quickness and agility, rather than lightness, that make 
a good apple picker. I know from experience that a 
young man of twenty-five can be of more service in an 
