NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 24, 1894, 
*1.00 PER YEAR. 
STILL ANOTHER FRUIT PICKER. 
Tins ONE SAVES MANY BKUISES. 
Another Good Word for Women Helpers. 
The difficulty experienced in procuring necessary 
help in the work of harvesting and handling a crop 
of winter apples in localities where they are exten¬ 
sively grown, is a matter which is well understood by 
all fruit growers. The shortened days, periods of 
cold, rainy weather, and liability to frequent gales of 
wind which sweep the greater portion of the fruit 
from the trees, are some of the adverse features con¬ 
nected with this industry. In view of these facts, 
various methods have been adopted to supersede the 
old-time system of picking each specimen singly by 
hand from the 
are also used for drawing the limbs away from the 
falling fruit. 
During a recent visit to Mr. Cook's extensive fruit 
farm, the gatherer was being used with apparent suc- 
ce.ss in the work of harvesting Lawrence pears. I am 
fully aware of the prejudice existing against any 
method of shaking fruit from the tree, and asked Mr. 
Cook how many years he had gathered his fruit in 
this manner. 
“ It is now seven years since I discarded the use of 
ladders in the work of hand-picking fruit. I was 
obliged to resort to some other method in order to se¬ 
cure my fruit crop in seasonable time, and, although 
I have never realized a full crop in any one season 
from my lo-acre apple orchard, I have sometimes been 
mind a lot of Northern Spys sold to a dealer soon 
after being gathered, and which were eventually held 
in store in Philadelphia iintil the following May, 
when they were sold at $7 per barrel.” 
“ lias any difficulty been experienced in disposing 
of your fruit, when it was understood that it was 
shaken from the tree instead of being hand-picked ? ” 
“ Only the first year’s use of the gatherer gave me 
any trouble, and the wonder is that more time was 
not required to remove a prejiidice so fix'mly rooted. 
I have since had most favorable testimonials from 
pi’ominent fruit dealers in reference to the keeping 
qualities of my fruit.” 
The sorting table referred to, and also shown in the 
engraving, is of convenient height, with slanting, 
slatted top (suf- 
tree, while 
standing on the 
ground or on 
ladders placed 
as convenient¬ 
ly as may be 
among the 
branches. 
Fig. 19.5 illus¬ 
trates a device 
invented and 
successfully 
used by Mr. 
Chas. E. Cook, 
of So. Byron, 
N. Y., in his ex¬ 
tensive o r c h - 
ards of apples 
and standard 
pears. It again 
demonstrates 
that Yankee 
ingenuity and 
skill are equal 
to every emer¬ 
gency. This de¬ 
vice resembles, 
somewhat, that 
of a huge in¬ 
verted umbrel¬ 
la, constructed 
of cotton can¬ 
vas, stayed and 
kept in position 
by cords se¬ 
curely fastened 
to a framewor 
easily adjusted, 
as it may be 
closed umbrella 
fashion when 
ficiently large 
to hold two or 
three barrels 
of fruit). This 
allows the 
small apples, 
leaves, etc., to 
pass through as 
the fruit rolls 
down to those 
engaged in the 
work of assort¬ 
ing. 
“Is male help 
only employed 
in this work ? ” 
“I have often 
had female 
help in assort¬ 
ing for market, 
and have found 
it much more 
reliable and 
trustworthy, 
having an eye 
for the desired 
size and color 
of fruit, and a 
disposition t o 
adhere strictly 
to rules re¬ 
quired. Yes, at 
the assorting 
table, females 
excel the aver¬ 
age male, and 
are much pre¬ 
ferred when ob¬ 
tainable.” 
E. I), c. 
R. N.-Y.-The 
A CATCHER FOR APPLES THAT NEVER HAS A “PASSED BALL. 
not required 
for use. Han¬ 
dles which pro¬ 
ject from each side, allow it to be moved, while in 
working order, by two men from tree to tree. 
Being placed under one side of the tree, all the 
fruit overhanging it is quickly shaken into the gath¬ 
erer, when it rolls down and out of an aperture at its 
lower portion, into a large, cushioned basket, ready 
to be carried to the table for assorting. In order to 
protect some of the fruit from falling directly on that 
already finding its way to the basket in the con¬ 
tracted or lower part of the gatherer, a tent-shaped 
piece of canvas conducts it about midway up the 
sides of the main canvas, whence it rolls downward 
under the upper or tent-shaped canvas. A shield of 
canvas is also so adjusted that it may be speedily 
placed at any desired point to protect the fruit from 
falling on the lower main branches before entering 
the gatherer, Light poles with hooks ou the ends 
obliged to keep two of these gatherers running early 
and late.” 
“ How large a force is required to run a gatherer, 
and how many barrels of winter apples are an average 
day’s work, assuming that the trees are well loaded 
with fruit ? ” 
“From three to five men are usually employed, de¬ 
pending lai’gely on the amounts of fruit to be dis¬ 
posed of. Of course more help is needed when we are 
gathering from 100 to 200 barrels per day, than when 
we are getting less.” 
“Have you ever tested the keeping qualities of 
apples gathered in this manner, by holding them till 
the later spring markets ? ” 
‘ ‘ It often occurs that a portion or the whole of my 
crop is held until that time, seemingly with as favor¬ 
able results as when hand picked. I have now in 
chief objection 
to such gath¬ 
erers has been 
that the fruit is often bruised or cut by falling upon 
a hard substance, or striking on sharp twigs or stubs 
on the limbs. This objection seems to be pretty 
well overcome in Mr. Cook’s device. His experience 
in sclllruj the fruit is certainly worth con.sideration by 
those who declare that such pickers are useless. The 
ease with which the picker may be carried from tree 
to tree, is another point in its favor. The assorting 
table is certainly a good thing. We know that most 
fruit growers say that fruit should be picked and 
handled as carefully as eggs. At the same time, it is 
sometimes impossible to do this careful work in large 
orchards, and it may be that such a picker has a 
legitimate place in fruit growing. That is for care¬ 
ful and fair experiment to decide after taking every¬ 
thing into consideration, and we would like to have 
the matter taken up by competent personf5. 
