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Excerpt from American Agriculturalist, Volume 38, 1879.
A
Ladder for the Orchard
In
the course of years we have published many styles of fruit
or orchard ladders; some of these were for the conversion of
an ordinary ladder, into one suited for orchard work, and
others have been special contrivances, useful for fruit picking,
and for scarcely anything else. We now give one for which
a very neat sketch, and the measurements were sent by "A.C.,"
who, while he gave his full name, omitted to write his address,
and we only know from the more than usually blind post-mark,
that he is somewhere in Illinois.
The engraving plainly shows the affair—a ladder mounted upon
a two-wheeled wheelbarrow. The brief directions point out
the following points to be observed in building it. The axle
for the wheels, in order to give as broad a base as possible,
and avoid the danger of its tipping sideways, should be as
long as will allow it to pass through the gates upon the farm.
To avoid tipping forward, it should be so built that a plumb-line
dropped from the top of the ladder will strike the axle. The
shafts (C) should hinge under the axle, near the wheels; where
they are bolted to the ladder the holes should be large to
give some play, and they should extend far enough back to
afford convenient handles. The standards, B, are bolted to
the shafts, C, at a point one-third the distance from the
axle to the foot of the ladder, and are attached to the ladder
at a point three-fourths of its length from the base.
Our correspondent writes that if one has a pair of wheels,
such a ladder will cost from $2 to $3, more than a common
one, and gives it as his experience that "it beats the
world in an orchard or a stack yard."
Editor's Note: This is a reprint of an article published
in 1879. It describes what was recommended in accordance with
the knowledge and practices of the day. While reading it,
please consider this fact.
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