September, 191 2 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



217 



so as to maintain a continuous supply 

 of solid, crisp stalks. To ensure that 

 the color may be good, and also that 

 tough and weak growths may not be 

 developed, the roots and soil should be 

 maintained in a thoroughly moist con- 

 dition by frequent applications of tepid 



water. I should like to emphasize the 

 fact that it is a great mistake to water 

 plants with ice-cold water just taken 

 from the tap. Water which has to be 

 used for watering plants, no matter what 

 they may be, should be allowed to stand 

 in the greenhouse tank over night. 



Grading Vegetables for Market 



* 



Paul Work, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 



cents a basket. Our primes sold at forty 



I 



EVERY year sees the work of grad- 

 ing cutting a larger figure in the 

 work of marketing vegetables 

 than it did before. Grading was once 

 unknown. To-day the producer of fruits 

 and vegetables is following close upon 

 the trail of the manufacturer who long 

 ago realized the necessity of uniformity. 

 The citrus people took the lead in this. 

 The western apple shippers were next, 

 with the vegetable shippers close upon 

 their heels. The progressive market 

 gardeners are now awake to the fact 

 that two gnarled cucumbers cut the price 

 of the whole bushel. Hundreds of grow- 

 ers arc still asleep. 



Every man and every community must 

 make its own plan of grading. What 

 suits one market does not suit another. 

 Many are discouraged in setting the 

 standard high because the lower grades 

 arc becoming increasingly difficult to 

 sell . We had to discard a considerable 

 proportion of the second grade tomatoes 

 at Cornell during the past season, but 

 it paid. At one time ordinary run-of- 

 thc-ficld fruit was bringing twenty-five 



•Extract from an address deliyered at the Innt 

 onnual convention of the Ontario Vegetable 

 Growers' Association. 



cents, and seconds at twenty and twenty- 

 five cents. 



Seconds are not wanted in large quan- 

 tity on most markets. Many hold that 

 the moral of this is, "Don't grade. If 

 the consumer doesn't want seconds, 

 make him take them with the best." 

 But the true moral is, "Don't grow 

 seconds." Of course, there will be 

 some inferior fruit, but if by selecting 

 a viell bred strain of a good variety, and 

 by giring the best of culture, we can 

 reduce the seconds to very low propor- 

 tions, we will not mind leaving a few 

 culls in the field. 



A COMMON MISTAKE 



One of the most common mistakes in 

 grading is in reducing the standards 

 when the price drops. When markets 

 are glutted, the question ceases to be 

 one of securing a high price, but it be- 

 comes n question of moving the crop or 

 letting it rot. People continue to use 

 the product, .Tnd that in larg** Quantities. 

 They are willing to pay a price which 

 will cover marketing cost and a good 

 share of production, but the question is. 

 which crower sells and whicb does not? 

 Naturally, the one with the best sells. 



The following clipping, which is typical 

 of a large number that appeared in our 

 trade papers last season, furnishes good 

 evidence on this point : 



"Lettuce from State points has been in 

 free receipt, and much has been sold 

 for less than charges. Fancy, heavy- 

 headed stock is worth fifty to seventy- 

 five cents a bushel, but average grades 

 neglected at ten to twenty-five cents a 

 oackage." 



The time of oversupply is the time 

 when grading counts. The grower has 

 established his trade on a basis of C|ual- 

 ity, and by maintaining that basis, he 

 is able to hold on while the other fellow 

 drops out. Moreover, Mr. Grader still 

 holds the trade when the market picks 



It is by no means easy to maintain a 

 standard of grading. One naturally de- 

 sires a maximum of primes and a mini- 

 mum of seconds, and he even uncon- 

 sciously tends downward. With hired 

 help, the problem is much more difficult. 

 The first essential is to form a mental 

 image of the standard for each grade, 

 working it out carefully and making it 

 neither too high nor too low. Fix these 

 standards as far as possible by the use 

 of sizing boards and the like. Constant 

 and rigid inspection is then necessary. 

 If a large quantity is handled, each 

 worker should have a number to be plac- 

 ed in each basket. Thus responsibility 

 is fixed. Just here is one of the greatest 

 advantages of machine-grading. A 

 machine is free from the failing of hu- 

 man nature. 



Mulching Ginseng 



E. A. Rnistll, Brantford, Ont. 



We have tried several methods of pro- 

 tecting the ginseng seed bed. A bed on 

 which a half inch of sawdust was used 

 gave the best results. In the beds on whick 

 leaves were used the seeds did not ger- 

 minate so quickly and a number of 

 plants were lost by being smothered or 

 by the stems breaking because they 

 were too long after growing through 

 the leaves. In another bed the leaves 

 were removed in April and the plants 

 did well. The sawdust permits the nir 

 to get at the young plants as soon as 

 they appear above the ground and the 

 result is that the stem is stronger than 

 when anything else is used. For older 

 plants a mulch of leaves or rotted man- 

 ure is suitable as the stem of the plant 

 is strong enough to grow tinrough with- 

 out injury. 



In the spring, when the plants app»«r, 

 shade must be provided, which is usu- 

 ally done by erecting a lath .screen. If 

 this is delayed the plants may be injured 

 and if thcv are left unprotected from the 

 sun until June they will wither and die. 

 During the growing season the onlv at- 

 tention required is to keep the plants 

 free from weeds and these will not be 

 numerous on account of the mulch. 



