September, 19 12 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



213 



rubbed off wherever they will touch ano- 

 ther tomato. The six quart basket ap- 

 pears to be the popular package for the 

 trade. Tomatoes do not require wrap- 

 ping. 



Pears should be picked when full 

 grown and firm, and then graded and 

 wrapped and packed in boxes, eight by 

 eleven by twenty inches or eight and 

 three-quarters by eleven by eighteen and 

 a half inches, with a good bulge. The 

 boxes always sell better than baskets. 

 There is no serious competition in 

 pears from British Columbia. 



Grapes are usually gathered and plac- 

 ed in six quart baskets in the vineyard 

 and shipped the same day or next. Our 

 grapes should be cut into the baskets 

 loosely and taken to the packing house 

 and held for a day or two. The baskets 

 can then be filled and covered. The 

 grape stems are then wilted and will 

 carry longer distances, and the fruit will 

 arrive in good condition. 



Summer and fall apples can be packed 

 in baskets and boxes, according to their 

 distinction, and late fall and winter var- 

 ieties in boxes and barrels. The boxes 

 can be packed almost as quickly as bar- 

 rels if there is a central packing house 

 to take the apples to when picked. 



Those growers who intend to ship 



;il T ■"1 8 Attractirely Packed and Well Arranged^Ezhibits of British Co'umbia Coa»t Fruili 



west should make up their minds that 

 they will follow up their shipm.ents for 

 a numl>er of years. It is a mistake to 

 ship only a few cars and then quit. There 

 is an unlimited market there for our 

 fruit if we will only get after it. 



September and Autumn Work in the Garden 



R. S. Rose, Pk 



AUTUMN is now nearly upon us, so 

 it is time that we looked around 

 our gardens to see what plants did 

 well, and to note those that did not do 

 what was expected of them. Mark a 

 place where they should do better next 

 summer, for those worthy of a further 

 trial. .Some may not have received 



tcrboro, Ont. 



enough sunshine, while others may have 

 had too much. ■ 



I have heard some gardeners (ama- 

 teur) say that there was nothing to do in 

 the month of September. I do not agree 

 Vvith them, as in my small garden I can 

 always find plenty to do, such as cut- 

 ting down the plants that have finished 



blooming, putting the finishing touches 

 to seed and bulb beds, getting a place 

 ready to dump all the dead leaves I can 

 get together for covering purposes as a 

 protection against the cold winter, as 

 well as preparing a place to put fresh 

 manure, which should be procured just 

 as soon as the ground is hard. Keep 

 this all winter, so that you can have it 

 early in the spring to start work with. 

 Keep all grass clippings and weeds and 

 mix these with the manure. 



I take note of the coloring of my bach 

 ground, which is chiefly of the perennial 

 phlox. This is in order that when sow- 

 ing or planting annuals in front of them 

 I can get what color effect I desire. Try 

 as much as possible to have one color 

 throughout the other and yet not be of- 

 fensive to the eye. I do not water my 

 beds during the month of September, un- 

 less the weather is very hot and dry, 

 more than three times a week, and some- 

 times not that often, if the evenings are 

 chilly. 



Towards the end of September comes 

 the time to slip the plants that you want 

 to keep and also for potting plants for 

 house culture. Having no greenhou.se 

 we use all the windows facing south. 



When potting plants for the house, if 

 you have to u.se a new pot, give it a thor- 

 ough soaking in a tub of water, as on ac- 

 count of its great porosity it will absorb 

 a large quantity of moisture. If an un- 

 soaked pot is used young plants are often 

 robbed of moisture when they need it 

 the most. Rcfore this is discovered 

 your plants will be too far gone to be of 

 much use. 



I do as much work during the latter 

 part of .September as I can in order that 

 I may have the lx?ds ready for their win- 

 ter covering, as during October and the 

 beginning of November one is simply 



