Practical Orcharding On Rough Lands. 275 



lets go and the limb flies up with a jerk, often 

 causing some of the best fruit to fall to the 

 ground bruised and practically worthless. 



What to Use in Picking.— We prefer a 



smooth split basket with drop handle to pick 

 in. Fruit seems to reach the table in better 

 condition than when sacks are used. With 

 very tender skinned varieties such as Trans- 

 parent, Grimes and Delicious, it would be well 

 to pad or line the basket. 



Slight bruises in the orchard may mean a 

 bad spot by the time the fruit reaches the 

 market or consumer. We should be careful not 

 to bark or bruise our trees when picking, as 

 this may result in really more damage than 

 spots made on the fruit. Care should be ex- 

 ercised in handling the ladders. They should 

 not be leaned against the limbs in a slanting 

 position, so that when the picker climbs up, the 

 ladder will slip down and down, breaking 

 twigs and bruising bark as it goes. These in- 

 jured portions are inviting places for the spores 

 to find winter quarters and may cause Canker 

 spots on the limbs. Climbing into or standing 

 in the forks of the trees frequently results in 

 dead spots, and we are sometimes at a loss to 

 know the cause. While taking care not to 

 bruise or damage the fruit we should not for- 



