16 HARVESTING, STORING, AND MARKETING 



Place the ladder when possible in such a position that if dis- 

 lodged it will fall toward the center of the tree, so that its fall 

 will be arrested before it has gone far. Most accidents come 

 from failure to observe this precaution. 



The pickers should be relieved of the fruit near the trees 

 they are picking so that they give all their time to the picking 

 operation. Other workers may empty the fruit carefully into 

 crates or lug boxes to be hauled to some central point or 

 packing shed, or if the fruit is packed in the orchard, they 

 may take it directly to the packing tables. There should 

 be an adequate supply of picking receptacles so that the 

 pickers do not have to wait for them. 



The rate of picking has been indicated in connection with 

 securing an adequate supply of labor. The grower may well 

 give considerable thought to the details of organization of his 

 picking crew, in order that the job may be well done, with the 

 greatest possible efficiency under the conditions. With cold 

 weather approaching, with heavy winds in prospect and the 

 fruit ready to come off, every hour is precious. 



2. Packing. Whether or not the grower packs his own 

 fruit will depend upon the method of sale of his crop as pre- 

 sented under '^Marketing." In any case, the fruit should 

 either be packed at once after picking, or put in storage where 

 deterioration will be arrested until the packing is done. Some 

 growers who have their own cold-storage plants put the fruit 

 as it comes from the trees directly into storage and pack it out 

 at their convenience and as they wish to market it, after the 

 picking season is over. As a rule, however, storage costs should 

 not be incurred on fruit which will be discarded in the packing 

 operation and by far the larger proportion of the commercial 

 crop is packed immediately after picking. 



Procedure : 



(a) Determining type of package to use. 

 (6) Determining grades and sizes to be made, 

 (c) Determining where packing is to be done. 



