APPLE-PICKING.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17740, 17 April 1923, Page 11

APPLE-PICKING.

PRETTY ACCOUNT OF PLEASANT OCCUPATION. (By "Sundowner'' 1 in Dunediu '"Star. ) "And others 101 l on good ground and did yield fruit that sprang :ip and increased, and brought iorth some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred." —Mark iv.. 8. One is forcibly reminded of this parable when tho season comes round and the apples arc ready for picking. It is a delightful, healthy occupation, and though tho men become thoroughly expert, the women, with their more nimble fingers, are, I th:nk, oven bstter suited for this work; and, what is more, tho occupation seems to suit them, it is quite a pretty scene, the teaui cf women pickers each, at her tree, vl. e given of the leaves, tho bright scarlet and dark red of the fruit, the poplar shelter belts with their golden autumn leaves, and tho vari-colouied print dresses, the sunshine and shadow all blending into and' forming a picture which it would require an artist to do credit to. ■ . Tho uninitiated regards it as a simple process and requiring no skill, but siion is not the cnic. The greatest carc must bo exercised so that the fruit is not bruised, or t:.e fruit buds broken off tho tree, for that means a lessened yield next jear. Thu apple is not torn off, [but held in the hands, and with a quick, dexterous turn tho stalk is detached from the bud. Every apple for export or keeping must have the stalk, if not it becomes "C" grade. The expert knows just liow many Hippies Hie oi" she can hold; tho unexperienced does not, and every now and then from one's own or adjoining trees ono hears the "flop" which denotes that an apple lias slipped through tho fingers and lies on tlic ground. Like the fish which escapes, it is generally the best; but no matter how small tie drop, no apple which has fallen must oil any account be lifted from the ground and placed in the hexes. The temptation is great; the fall was such a little one. As yon examine the apple there is no sign of bruise or broken skin—still, that apple, if passed by the packer at tho sheds, would undoubtedly start decay in the case, and ruin, perhaps, the whole boxful. If it be a good Cox's Orange, one generally settles the matter by eating it; if not, it is left where it falls, ultimately being eaten by the pigs, which, as soon as the crop is gathered, are let loose in the orchard, and cat up all the windfalls, returning their "thirty" or "hundred" fold in tho shape of the sweetest bacon which reaches our breakfast tablo. Tho full orchard boxes are stacked by the men along the rows, in dumps of generally from nine to twelve, three boxes high, ready for the waggon or motor which transports them to the packing shed. Here is a scene of life and bustle. The apple grader, with its travelling belts and endless rows of canvas tra/B, assorts the apples as they pass along with more than human accuracy, and as each apple reaches its allotted bin the little tray tips and deposits the apple along with those of exactly similar Bize. The larger ones have already fallen; tho smaller travel on until they, too, have attained their allotted space. Beside tho bins stand the packers — men and women—who with wonderful deftness wrap- tho apple, each in its tissue paper cover, and in one action lit it in its proper place in ' the box; not to bo touched again until it is lifted out and served over the counter at the other side of the world.

Our Otago orchards are in their infancy. Probably tlioy may be classed as bringing forth the "thirty," but when they reach the "hundred" u vast army of pickers and packers will annually be required for Central Otago; and with its glorious sunshine and wonderful "champagne air," this industry is going to offer occupation to hundreds, aye, thousands—of our town's men and women for four or five months each year. If they are far seeing enough to ayail themselves of tho opportunity they will return to town richer in pocket and with a general all-round healthy feeling which no other occupation I know of can produce.

The men lift the heavy filled boxes for the women, and pick the apples high out of their reach; and one of the most pleasing features of tho whole business is that it appears to engender an old-time spirit of chivalry and courtesy, which it is very pleasant to behold. In the orchards men appear to approach nearer to the real type of Nature's gentleman —the gentle man—than one can understand until one has done a day's picking. Even in our outside occupations the refining influence of the women works for the general good.