56 
BOTANICAL INDEX. 
The usual mode of gathering all kinds of fruit is by hand pfck- 
iny, which is slow and tedious, with most kinds of berries, at least; 
but, a few mechanical Fruit and Berry Pickers are now offered for 
sale, which are of permanent value. Fig. 112 is a Fruit Gatherer, 
owned by William Pickett & Son, Chicago, 111., and presents many 
advantages of great value, for gathering large fruit, particulai’ly, 
as it gathers the fruit without bruising or injuring it in the least. 
Its length enables a person to select a good position, and, without 
changing it, to gather from a large portion of the tree, thereby 
saving a vast amount of time by not having to continually change 
positions, as well as by retaining the fruit in the adjoining sack 
until a quantity is gathered. Fig. 113 is a Berry Picker, owned by 
L. B. Silver, Cleveland, Ohio, and consists 
of a neat little India-rubber cup, artistically 
fitting the hand, holding about a half pint, 
and obviating the liability of squeezing or 
in any way injuring the fruit while pick- 
ing. Fig. 114 is a peculiarly constructed 
Grape Cutter, owned by A. A. Weeks, 82 
John Street, New York City, and is the 
most complete article, not only for cutting 
oil' the bunches of grapes without injur- F,<i - ,13 - 
ing the fruit, but, also, for cutting (lowers, especially, roses, etc. 
These illustrations are all so plain that the eye, at a glance, com- 
prehends the working of these three articles. 
So much for inventions to assist in gathering fruit; but, here, 
the care and anxiety about fruit growing only just begins, for no 
matter how choice and 
tine the fruit may be 
when freshly gathered, 
it must be taken to our 
large cities and towns 
to find buyers, and how 
to get it there is the 
most important ques- 
tion. The old mode of 
shipping was in boxes, 
more or less systemat- 
ically made but all ob- 
jectionable from lack of 
a known standard" of size for large fruit, 
while small fruit usually fermented be- 
fore the dealer could possibly dispose of 
them. The Standard boxes, however, % 
bushel (Fig. 115) and the- bushel box, 
(Fig. 116) were soon adopted and still con- 
tinue the favorite for shipping all kinds 
of such coarse and heavy fruit and veget- 
ables as Apples, Pears, Tomatoes, Sweet 
Potatoes, &c., but are usually abandoned 
for Peaches, Plums, Cherries, Grapes, &c.,_ 
which arc now more extensively shipped in baskets that hold about one peck. >se\- 
cral patterns are in use in different portions ot the country, each truit centei, ap- 
parently, adopting its own favorite form or make ot baskets, ihey are expected to 
hold a peck of fruit, but it requires the fruit to be rounded up to make a peck, which 
