Apples are practically never allowed to ripen on the trees but are picked and shipped green. By "green" we mean not fully ripe, not ripe enough to eat out of hand. This is necessary for all fruit which is to be shipped any considerable distance or which is to be stored. Used in this sense green has no reference to color, but as a matter of fact, much of our fruit is picked too green, before it has even reached its full size and is well colored. There is no exact time at which apples must be picked, but this depends on many factors such as the variety, the distance to be shipped, the soil, the climate, and various other conditions, to say nothing of seasonal differences.
The time at which any variety should be picked in a particular section will be learned by experience. In general, apples should be left on the tree as long as possible in order to get the best size and color. When the apples begin to drop badly it is a pretty sure indication that it is time to pick. If the fruit is to be sold in the local market or for immediate consumption, it may be allowed to get riper than would otherwise be the case. With most varieties one picking is sufficient, but in the case of varieties like the Wealthy which does not ripen uniformly, or like the Twenty Ounce, which does not always color evenly, two or three pickings should be made. Two or three pickings are practically always necessary where fancy fruit is desired, in order to get the ideal size, color, and uniformity.
Ladders.—There are two general 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 convenient type has one end mounted on wheels so that it can be pushed from one place to another. The top of the table should be made of two strong layers of canvas, one tacked firmly to the framework of the table with about three or four inches of dip and the other laid loosely over it. This plan provides a soft resting place for the fruit and the table can be easily cleaned off by simply throwing back the upper layer of canvas.
Three feet six inches is about the right width for the table, and the same sloping to three feet four inches at one end, is the correct height from the ground. Most packers like to have this gradual slope to one end so that the apples will naturally feed toward that end. The length may be anything up to eight or ten feet, beyond which the table becomes heavy and unmanageable.
Barrels.—The standard apple barrel adopted by the National Apple Shippers' Association and made law in New York State has a length of stave of twenty-eight and one-half inches and a diameter of head of seventeen and one-eighth inches. The outside circumference of the bilge is sixty-four inches and the distance between the heads is twenty-six inches. It contains one hundred quarts dry measure. The staves are mostly made of elm, pine, and red gum, and the heads principally of pine with some beech and maple. In most apple growing sections barrels are made in regular cooper shops where their manufacture is a business by itself. Only the largest growers set up their own barrels. Practically all barrels are purchased "knocked down" and it costs from four to six cents each to set them up. Barrels can ordinarily be purchased for about thirty-five cents each, but the cost varies somewhat with the season and the region.
Apple packages should always present a neat, clean, and attractive appearance. Never use flour barrels, soiled or ununiform barrels of any kind. If a head cushion is used a good deal of waste from the crushing and bruising of the fruit will be saved. A head lining of plain or fringed paper also adds much to the attractiveness of the package. The wrapping of apples for barrel packing is hardly advisable. The fruit is pressed into the barrel tightly with one of two types of presses, both of which are good.
The lever press is more responsive and the pressure is more easily changed, but it is harder to operate. The screw press distributes the pressure more evenly with less injury to the fruit and is more powerful.