July 27, 1907 



HORTICULTURE 



105 



FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROS- 

 PECTS IN WESTERN 

 NEW YORK. 



The subject oi the weather is usuall?/ 

 a trite one, fit only to fill embarrass- 

 ing pauses, but this season it has be- 

 come an interesting if not a vital issue 

 amon.? the green truck growers of 

 Irondeciuoit. Next to the high winds 

 in the early spring, sharp cold nights 

 were the most conspicuous feature 

 in the spring's meteorological record, 

 but as far as can be discovered at 

 present, the only noticeable effect of 

 these has been to retard vegetation. 

 No mention is made, from any part of 

 the town, of actual damage inflicted. 

 As week follows week without add- 

 ing materially to the aggregate rain- 

 fall, the outlook for small outdoor 

 crops, naturally becomes less assuring. 

 Excessively wet weather at this time of 

 the year is for various reasons un- 

 desiral)le, yet it is not without its com- 

 pensating advantages, and pretty much 

 the same may be said of an ab- 

 noimally dry season. Of the two ex- 

 tremes, the majority of the gardeners 

 v«ould prefer the dry; nevertheless it 

 is possible to ignore the seriousness of 

 a deficiency in the rain fall. What 

 the gardeners are chiefly concerned 

 ahout is th3 effect upon the 

 future crops. If the next month 

 or two, which constitutes the 

 main portion of the growing sea- 

 son for the majority of crops, should 

 be normally dry. it is feared that the 

 consequences may be of a serious 

 nature, for ihere are very limited re- 

 serves of moisture in the soil to atone 

 for any deficiency in the current sur- 

 face supplies. 



The wonderfully healthy appearance 

 cf the few fields of rye, is frequently 

 commented upon. These plants are 

 often more advanced in growth than 

 is the case this year, but rarely are 

 they more uniformly dev.jloped. healthy 

 and vigorous, and, as these considera- 

 tions are of much more vital signific- 

 ance than mere luxuriance of growth, 

 the prospects are generally regarded 

 as eminently reassuring. 



All through Western New York the 

 fruit growers are encouraged and aro 

 looking brighter, and all because the 

 weather man has handed out a little 

 sunshine. A close inspection of the 

 apple orchards has been made, and 

 they show that about all varieties are 

 looking well, and there will be very 

 little, if any, falling off in any of the 

 orchards. 



Baldwins will not bear this year as 

 well as last. Russet, Pippin, Lady 

 Blush, Spy. Greening, and Kings will 

 be a big crop — if the present indica- 

 tioTis count for anything. Peaches 

 will be a little more than half a crop. 

 Bartlett pears are setting good, -nhile 

 the Kieffer variety seems not to be 

 doing well. H. R. PEACHEY, 



Irondequoit, N. Y. 



BETWEEN YOU AND ME, What 

 do you think of the Buyer's Directory 

 and Ready Reference Guide of HORTI- 

 CULTURE? I always look it over be- 

 fore I do any buying. 



INSPECTING THE MILLIONAIRE. 



Our friend and everybody's friend, 

 Patrick OMara, would never be ac- 

 cused by any one of the legion of those 

 who know him, of following up mil- 

 lionaires for the sake of knowing 

 them yet here we have him, with his 

 back towards us, intently bent on that 

 very thing. This particular Million- 

 aire, however, happens to be a straw- 

 berry and like other tnillionaires it 



has already had considerable news- 

 paper notice. On invitation of Prof. 

 Johnson, Mr. O'Mara went out to see 

 the famous berry and on his return is 

 accused of having saUl it was as big 

 as a potato, but he declares this to be 

 a base fabrication. He is willing, 

 though, to go on record as saying thac 

 it strikes him as being the best thing 

 in the way of a strawberry that has 

 yet come under his notice 



FRUIT CROPS IN WASHINGTON. 



Reports from inspectors in various 

 parts of the Spokane country, em- 

 bracing 150,000 square miles in eastern 

 Washington and Oregon, the pan- 

 handle of Idaho, western Montana and 

 southeastern British Columbia, show 

 that this season's fruit crop will aver- 

 age 8.5 per cent, of the 1906 yield, 

 which was a record-breaker, but that 

 tree, bush and vine fruits will be of 

 better color, size and flavor than ever 

 before. Greater care has been taken 

 by the various state and provincial 

 horticultural commissioners in elimi- 

 nating infested trees shipped in from 

 outside, and the yield will bring the 

 growers between $9,000,000 and $10,- 

 000,000. which is a gain over last year. 

 Prices are maintained, the supply be- 

 ing far below the demand, because of 

 heavy exports to Europe, Australia and 

 the Orient and big shipments to Chi- 

 cago, Denver, Boston and eastern 

 points. 



F. A. Huntley, state horticultural 

 commissioner for Washington, has 

 three deputies at worli in the common- 

 wealth. They are stationed in Spo- 

 kane, Tacoma and Seattle, who are 

 assisted by special inspectors. This 

 service has the effect of raising the 

 standard of purity and cleanliness of 

 all fruits to a marked degree. It has 

 done more than anything else to force 

 thorough spraying and careful sort- 

 ing and packing by the producers, and 

 inferior stuff is kept out of the mar- 

 kets. 



On the highlands, there will be im- 



mense crops of apples and prunes. In 

 the Spokane, Yakima and Walla Walla 

 valley the apple and peach crops are 

 late, but the trees are well laden and 

 orchardists are looking for a banner 

 year. Nearly all the fruit will be 

 marketed on commission this year. 



The cherry crop was large this sea- 

 son. The berry crop also was large, 

 growers of strawberries in the Spo- 

 kane valley and the Sunnyside district 

 harvesting from 500 to 700 crates the 

 acre, while several culturists near 

 Greenacres. reported yields of 1000 

 crates an acre. The prune crop in the 

 districts west and southwest of Spo- 

 kane promises to be unusually heavy. 



Several Australian firms have sent 

 their American representatives into the 

 Yakima country, west of Spokane, to 

 buy fancy red apples. Through an al- 

 ternation of seasons, the apples will 

 reach the other continent at a time 

 when the fruit there is out of season. 



Prof. Cyrus L. Smith, commercial 

 representative of the Inland Empire, 

 announces that the pear crop in the 

 Spokane country will be from 15 to 25 

 per cent, better in grade than in any 

 previous year, and. he adds, there is 

 every indication the yield will be a 

 big one. The recent rain has helped the 

 fruit wonderfully and improved it 

 greatly. 



One of the most beautiful decora- 

 tions in Boston is the big retail estab- 

 lishment of Filene at the corner of 

 Washington and Winter streets, every 

 window in the vast building being 

 adorned with a window box of geran- 

 iums and vincas. 



