The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1917-08-16
HARVEST WAR CROP
OF APPLES SHORTLY
II viii Equal Two Bushels for
Every Man, Woman and
Chi. in the Land.
STAPLE FOODS TO ALLIES
Motto This Year Is "Eat al Apple and
Send a Biscuit"-Unusua Need
For Handling crop-May Be
Short Of Help.


Short Of Help.
The United States is about to haT'-
vest Its great war crop of apples. II
equals two bushels to every man, wom-
an and child in the country. In order
to send as much staple food as possI-
BILE to our fighting allies, Americans
are urged to use as many apples as
possible. The motto this year is: Eft
an apple and send a biscuit"
War conditions also confront the
apple growers, for there is a scarcity
of pickers, and careful prept :ations
must now be made to sec thar this
crop is all safely harvested and put
into storage. Now is the time to be-
gin organizing picking crews In every
apple growing section. A survey of
the situation shows that the farmer
will need cooperation from business
men In the towns and cities round
about at which he trades, and which
have just as great an interest in this
crop as the farmer himself. This is
emergency organization work to be
taken up Immediately by chambers of
commerce, boards of trade, state and
county councils Of defense, and busl-
ness men generally.
The labor supply to harvest this
crop exists right in the cities adjacent
to the apple orchards in most cases,
but the draft and demands of fac
| tories and railroads for labor have
disturbed the normal supply OF work
erS upon which the farmer usually
draws, and it Is necessary to recruit
new kinds of workers. People who
have never regarded themselves as ap-
pie pickerS may this year be asked to
go to the orchards and help get in the
crop for patriotic reasons.
The organization N.,cx sfr'Ild take
the form of an immediate survey of
labor resources to see where a picking
force is to be recruited. Stores and
factories can often release clerks and
workmen for this service If notified in
time. Families who would like q week
or two of vacation in the country with
| light, healthy outdoor work at satiSfac-
tory wages may also be induced to
| join the picking army. 1t has been sug-
gested that the schools might be open
ed later this year so that boys and girls
can be sent to the orchards, but this
will not be necessary in all cases. One
! very good source of pickers can be
found among the wOmen's OrganiZa.
tions of this country.
Much is heard about the scarcity OF
| labor but there is not as great q scar
city as most people imagine. Workers
upon whom the farmer depends in or
dinary times have simply been shifted
into other occupations, and war condi-
| tions demand that business men step
in, locate other classes of workers who
can be shifted to the orchards for this
plenty of help.
The principles of careful fruit pick
ing are very simple, and easily under
stood. If the farmer can start with
two or three experienced pickers and
spend little time explaining good
picking methods to his volunteers he
should get excellent results, for these
volunteers, while new to the work, will
also be people of good average intelli'
gence and the war emergency will ap
peal to their interest so that they will
be more than ready to help harvest the
crop skillfully.
| Apple growers are advised to get II
touch with the business organizations
in their nearest town, ask that help bt
given in SECURING pickers and repOr
the number Of pickers needed by them
selves. One of the greatest Difficult
| ties in organizing harvest hands fol
any crop is that of gathering accurate
are needed on each farm and in eacl
| township. For lack of such informa
tion it very often happens that ont
township will be handicapped becaus,
| ~ 40 NAlllOuL 0ulLiNlShL anu
township twenty-five or thirty milo
away will have surplus of workers
By ascertaining in advance just hov
many workers will be needed in eacl
locality, business organizations will b,
able to recruit sufficient force ant
there will be neither scarcity nor sur
plus in any section. I
This years apple crop calls for spe
cial methods of handling. The size o
the crop makes it necessary to Sent
only the first-class fruit to market ant
to see that all seconds and culls ar
sold in bulk around home or worked
up into by-products. There must b.
great care to see that apples are no
exposed to the heat or outdoors afte
picking, but are properly housed il
temporary storage places on the farm
and carefully cooled. The scarcity o
pickers will probably make it neces
sary to pick and house the crop frs
and grade and pack it afterwards. Full
directions for handling the fruit will
be published later.
The great big task immediatel.
ahead is that Of securing a picking
force, and in this work the busines
man and the farmer are cooperating
to an extent never known before. Thi
is war crop. 1t will be harveste,
with war organization.
A Call Misinterpreted.