ral types of picking ladders, the rung and
the step ladders. For large trees the rung ladders are the best. They
may be obtained in lengths to suit the height of the tree. Lengths of
more than twenty-two or twenty-four feet become too heavy and clumsy
to handle, even when made of pine, which is the best material as it is
light and strong for its weight. In very old, high trees extension
rung ladders are sometimes used. They are also useful for interior
work but are heavy to handle. Rung ladders cost from ten to twenty
cents a running foot. Step ladders are useful only on young and small
trees. The two styles, the three (Japanese) and four legged, are both
quite satisfactory where one can reach the fruit from them.

Receptacles for picking usually hold about half a bushel. Both baskets
and bags are used, some preferring one and some the other, and a
choice between them is merely a matter of personal preference. There
is a little less liability of bruising the apples in bags than in
baskets, but the latter are more convenient in some ways. Fruit should
never be thrown or dropped into a basket but always handled carefully.
Some varieties, as McIntosh, show almost every finger mark and
literally require handling with gloves.

HANDLING.--The old custom of picking and laying on the ground in the
orchard is a poor one and should not be followed, as it causes
unnecessary handling and bruising. Moreover, fruit should be packed
and hauled to storage as soon after picking as possible. Picking and
placing directly on the packing table from which the apples are
immediately packed is the best plan where it is practicable, but as
the weather at picking time in the Eastern States is frequently quite
uncertain, it is not always possible to follow this plan as closely as
can be done in the West, where dry air and sunshine prevail. Still,
wherever there is a considerable quantity of fruit and several
pickers, the plan of packing directly from the table is best. Many
growers pick in boxes and barrels and haul the apples to a packing
shed to be packed later. Convenience and expediency must govern the
general farmer who is not always at liberty to choose the best plan,
often having to do as he can.

PACKING TABLES enable the grower to pack his fruit better because he
can see better what he is doing, and to handle the fruit more cheaply
and quickly and with less injury. They should be portable so that they
can be moved about the orchard. A