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A bumper cro for local apple grower Autumn is the traditional time in.Ontario for the har- vest of the apple crop. At the 15-acre orchard of Lloyd Smith, southwest of Port Perry, the picking of the always-popular Mcln- tosh apples has been going on for more than a week, and will likely continue until the end of this week. Then the pickers will turn to the other varieties in the 1400-tree orchard - Delicious, Empire, Spy and hopefully, says Mr. Smith, the entire harvest will be complete by the end of this month. Mr. Smith has been grow- ing apples for many years, and he says that 1978 is one of the best crops ever. 'The quantity and the quality this _ year are excellent."' One of the reasons for the bumper crop is a perfect ripening combination in the past couple of weeks of cool nights below 40 degrees F., and warm sunny days. Itisa delicate process, however. The crop could suffer if the temperature gets too cold at night, followed by hot sun during the day. And as October moves on, there is always the danger of frost kill. One year, on October 19, says Mr. Smith, he lost 1000 bushels of apples. This year however, the crew of about a dozen pick- ers and graders have been working six days a week. The apples are classified as Fancy grade, C grade or for juice only. The fancy grade apples are the ones shipped to wholesalers and end up on the supermarket shelves. C grade are smaller in size and may not be completely ripe. They are popular among Scugog resi- dents who buy them in quan- tity at the farm for cooking purposes. The apples not shipped immediately will go into con- trolled asmosphere storage at the Smith farm where they will sit for a minimum of 90 days with the oxygen in the large room being con- stantly removed. The process ensures that when these apples are ready for market some time after the first of February, they are just about as fresh, crisp and juicy as the day they were picked from the trees. The Ministry of Agricul- ture and Food predicts that this year's apple crop in Ontario will reach nearly seven million bushels, and about 40 percent will be the McIntosh variety. This represents an impor- tant cash crop for the ec- onomy of the province, and the harvest provides tem- porary employment for thousands of people. While the orchards this time of year may look dazz- ling with the trees heavy with large, ripe apples, growers like Mr. Smith point out that a successful orchard demands a lot of hard work, and a little luck from Mother Nature. by John B. McClelland Joan Fleming of Ashburn sorts and grades the Macs in the orchard and places them in large bins. They are graded according to size and quality. Apple grower Lloyd Smith of R.R. 2, Port Perry says the crop from his 15-acre orchard is one of the biggest and the best quality ever. bid he Rose Philip, of Scugog Township, says she actually enjoys the fresh air and exercise of apple picking.