Apples are handled as carefully as eggs by men who understand the business of getting high prices. Picking boxes for apples have bothered orchard men more than any other part of the business. It is so difficult to get help to handle apples without bruising that many inventions have been tried to lessen the damage. In western New York a tray with vertical ends and slanting sides has been adopted by grape growers as the most convenient tray for grapes. Apple growers are adopting the same tray. It is made of three-eighths-inch lumber cut 30 inches long for the sides, using two strips for each side. The bottom is 30 inches long and three-eighths of an inch thick, made in one piece. The ends are seven-eighths of an inch thick cut to a bevel so the top edge of the end piece is fourteen inches long and the bottom edge is ten inches long. The depth of the end piece is eight inches. Hand cleats are nailed on the outsides of the end pieces so as to project one-half inch above the top. These cleats not only serve to lift and carry the trays, but when they are loaded on a wagon the bottoms fit in between the cleats to hold them from slipping endways. In piling these picking boxes empty, one end is slipped outward over the cleat until the other end drops down. This permits half nesting when the boxes are piled up for storage or when loaded on wagons to move to the orchard. [Illustration: Figure 209.--Fruit Thinning Nippers. Three styles of apple-stem cutters are shown. They are also used for picking grapes and other fruits.] Apples are picked into the trays from the trees. The trays are loaded on to wagons or stone-boats and hauled to the packing shed, where the apples are rolled out gently over the sloping sides of the crates on to the cushioned bottom of the sorting table. Orchard men should have crates enough to keep the pickers busy without emptying until they are hauled to the packing shed. The use of such trays or crates save handling the apples over several times. The less apples are handled the fewer bruises are made. [Illustration: Figure 210.--Apple Picking Ladder. When apples are picked and placed in bushel trays a ladder on wheels with shelves is convenient for holding the trays.] In California similar trays are used, but they have straight sides and are called lug boxes. Eastern fruit men prefer the sloping sides because they may be emptied easily, quickly and gently. FRUIT PICKING LADDERS Commercial orchards are pruned to keep the bearing fruit spurs as near the ground as possible, so that ladders used at picking time are not so long as they used to be. [Illustration: Figure 211.--Stepladder and Apple-Picking Bag. This ladder has only three feet, but the bottom of the ladder is made wide to prevent upsetting. This bag is useful when picking scattering apples on the outer or upper branches. Picking bags carelessly used are the cause of many bruised apples.]