The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1905-11-16
THE RIGHT WAY
TO PICK FRUIT


fruit right. That includes good yari.
eties, healthy trees that have been
supplied with proper proportions OF
fertility and moisture, properly
sprayed to keep off insects and fungi,
and the fruit thinned to give IL an OPP
portunity to develop the best advant-
age. We use half bushel round bas-
ket with one handle TO pick the fruit
In, writes u. L. Cox in Rural New
Yorker, and have an iron hoop with 0
loop for leather strap to fasten to
basket, and the cther end of hook
bent so that 1t just hangs over a limb
or rung of the ladder. Quarter inch
iron is plenty large enough for hooks,
and eight or nine inches will be about
right length to cut the iron for b
hook. Cut leather strap about hall
inch wide and nine or ten inches long,
and make a slit near both ends, then
run one end through the loop in the
hook and put the other end Of the
strap through the elit and the strap
and the hook are securely fastned to-
gether. Put the strap around the bas-
ket handle and run the hook through
the other slit in the strap and draw
up tight and 1t Is fastened to the bas-
ket. This way Ii much better than
tying. We use ladders made from two
pieces of light timber sawed tapering,
so the heaviest aud strongest pgrt Is
at the bottom. Holes are bored
through some pieces of tough timber
are split out for rungs and lifted into
the holes, then wedged, and few
nails driven TO hold IL together So
curely. The ladder should be set al.
most straight for the picker to stand
on while picking, just so it will not
fall backward with him while climb
ing. If 1t is set leaning very much II
Is more apt to break limb and throw
the picker off than * stood straight
as possible. The longer the ladder the
straighter It can stand, and the short
OF the more it must lean to stand
while the picker is climbing. ! dc
not like pickers to climb through the
trees II they can get the fruit from
ladders. They often skin the limbs
and break them, which can be avoid
e1 by staying ON the ladders. Pool
pickers are a prolific source of damage
to trees. The proper way to pick an
apple or pear Is not TO take hold OF
the fruit and pull BY SO doing the
stem often pulls out of the fruit OF
the twig breaks of with the fruit, tax.
ing the buds that would mako the
fruit the following year. The picker
should put his thumb or finger, OF
both, at the Junction Of stem and
twig, and break sideways, SO as tc
leave the 8 em with the fruit and the
twig on the tree, and lay the fruit
carefully in the basket, so as not tc
bruise Ii. Fruit does not all ripen at
one time, and consequently it should
not be picked oil at once. We 60
over the orchard and pick the largest
and best oolored fruit as soon as II
will do, and leave tho others to grow
and color for later picking. 1t will
surprise any grower who has never
done so, nor seen apples picked that
way, to see how much the little green
fruit will grow and color in two
weeks. A picker can take off all the
fruit that will do for the best grade
about the first of October, and not
get more than half of the fruit picked,
and two weeks later get nearly as
many more first grade apples as he
got the first time. What Is the use
of picking those little green apples the
first Of October, when they are al
mos worthless, aud let some of the
good ones drop from the trees because
all of them cannot be gone over as
soon as they shouli beY by picking
only the best fruit the whole orchard
can be gone over In much less time
than when they are taken clean, and
then second picking can be made,
and II necessary third. II there is
still quite n quantity of greon fruit
when the second picking is made,
leave it for third, because 1t il al
most worthless when immature and If
the foliage remains on the trees the
fruit will grow and color.
When ali the fruit is gathered at one
picking | would not give much for the
second grade, as ii Is not well eolored
and Is immature, but by making two
or three pickings nearly all Of it will
have good color, and be ripe enough
to taste we'll, and the second grade
will keep better than the first usually,
and sell in the winter for about two
thirds as much rs the first. BY thor
ough spraying four or five times in a
season, thinning so as TO take off all
the imperfect specimens to he readily
seen, and then some of the small ones
when they are too thick, and success
i've pickings, most of the culled and
poor apples will be done away with
and good fruit will he in its stead.
The oulled fruit hurts the market for
good apples moro than the same
quantity Of good apples without any
culls. 1t is necessary for us growers
30 grow and put ON the market moth
ing but good fruit that will keep and
please the consumers. How often
does the poor stuff put on the market
80 disgust the buyers that they do
not care to make another purchase OF
the same variety, fearing they viii
not be satisfied? 1t is too often the
case.
Son Lost Mother.
UTnnsnp,n4ion rms In Onr fan,ilv