The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-12-16

many kinds of injuries tc citrus fruit
during packing operations, one of the
most common as well as most serious
types is what is known as clipper
cutting" according to the specialists
of the United States Department of
Agriculture I4 severing the fruit
from the branch, it is said, the skin
is often cut or punctured with the
points of the clippers. These abra-
sions in the skin of the fruit harbor
the fungi which cause blue-mOld decay
and other fruit diseases. Oftentimes
in clipping, the clippers leave a long
sharp stem on the fruit and while a
long stem does not cause decay or in.
jury of the fruit to which il is attach
ed such a stem if sharp and jaggered
may injure all the fruit with which it
comes in contact in the packing bag,
field box, brusher washing machine,
drying rack, packing bin and the pack
ed box. Other sources Of injury are
from thorn punctures-caused by high
winds before the fruit is packed
and from carelessness of the pickers
in handling the ladders or in transfer
ring the fruit to the picking bag.
Considerable injury also may re-
suit from pulling fruit that can not be
easily reached for clipping or from
shaking the trees so that fruit falls
to the ground before it is put in the
packing boxes. Serious losses and
decay result from injuries made by
dropping instead of placing the fruit
in the picking bag or basket, or worse
yet by shooting it in, by scratching
the fruit with the finger nails, by
squeezing il against the picking lad
ded while in the picking sack, by care
less emptying or pouring into the field
box, and by sand, gravel, splinters,
prOtruding nails, etc, in the field box
In hauling additional injury may re-
suit from putting too much fruit into
the field box, from heaping it so in
loading and stacking, the boxes rest
on the fruit in the box below, and
from the hauling of fruit on spring
less wagons over rough roads
How the Fruit Should &c Picked
All pickers should wear gloves, to
guard against finger nail scratches
The clippers should be sharp and
properly set or adjusted so as not to
leave any ragged fragments in clip
ping. The points should be dull or
rounded in order to guard against cut
ting the skin of the fruit when bring
ing the clipper in position to sever the
fruit from the branch. In order to
do the work properly, especially
where the picker must reach any dis
lance for the fruit, the stems should
first be cut long and a second cut be
made when the fruit is brought to q
position where the picker can easily
see what he is doing This method of
clipping removes any and all excuse
for clipper cutting or leaving of long
stems. While this double cut may
take little longer, practice soon en-
ables picker to accomplish as much
in this way as the other, if quality of
work is given equal consideration with
quantity. After the fruit is properly
clipped it should be placed in the pick
ing bag bS hand, not dropped or
thrown in as is too frequently done.
A heavy canvas bag carried from
the shoulder by means of strap and
holding not more than half a field
box is preferable as a picking recep-
tacle. This bag should be partly
closed at the top, making it necessary
TO place the fruit in the bag by hand
and the bottom should be open but
folded up on the side and fastened
by hooks or ropes near the top so as
to make sack or bag. In transfer
ring the fruit to the field box, the
whole bag is lowered into the box,
er which the bag is drawn upward
and away allowing the fruit to roll out
gently and remain in the field box.
This type of bag is preferable to the
bushel basket or wicker basket fire.
quently used and to other picking re-
ceptacles from which the fruit has to
be poured or emptied through the
same opening used in picking The
things to guard against in using the
picking bag are the danger of bruis-
ing the fruit between the ladder and
the picker's body and the possibility
of thorn puncturing through the can
vas If good, heavy canvas is used,
there is not much risk of puncturing.
Great care should be exercised in
handling and setting the ladders in
order to avoid bruising the fruit
against the ladder or limbs or scratch
ing it on branches or thorns. Where
threelegged stepladders can be used,
they are preferable.