IN THE ORCHARD. 



47: 



The sweetened juice is then at once run into 

 the boiHng pan. A better grade of syrup 

 and jelly can be made in a pan or boiler 

 which excludes the air and prevents the for- 

 mation of caramel. The ordinary pan as 

 used in boiling sorghum or maple sap for 

 syrup is equally suited for jelly making. 

 The best form of pan is a long covered and 

 ventilated wooden trough, having heavy 

 copper steam pipes running lengthwise of 

 the box. The steam in the pipes must be 

 under a pressure of not less than eighty 

 pounds. The South Allen Evaporator, 

 made at Mt. Gilead, O., is of this type, and 

 gives good satisfaction. Whichever pan is 



Cause of Apple Spot 



A. W. PEART, BURLINGTON, ONT. 



IN the October issue of The Horticultur- 

 ist Mr. R. J. Messenger takes issue 

 with the opinion I advanced to The Horti- 

 culturist in relation to the apple spot, viz., 

 that " clean cultivation tends to promote the 

 scab." Mr. Messenger erroneously as- 

 sumes that this opinion is based on one or 

 two isolated cases pointing in that direction. 

 On the contrary it is a growing conviction 

 founded on the experience and observation 

 of many years. 



In my opinion there are several other con- 

 ditions which tend also to promote the spot, 

 such as the variety of apple under considera- 

 tion, crowding of trees, lack of free circu- 

 lation of the air, unsuitable soils, etc. The 

 Snow and Holland Pippin appear to have n 

 strong predisposition to the scab, while the 

 Golden Russet and Blenheim Pippin are 

 comparatively immune. 



Last year the cold wet season was charged 

 with the prevalence of the spot. This year, 

 which has probably been colder and wetter, 

 the apples are very much cleaner in this dis- 

 trict. And so it goes. It does not seem 

 that the bottom of the question has yet been 

 reached. Fruit growing is still in its ex- 



used, the heating surface must be hot 

 enough to keep the juice boiling vigorously 

 from start to finish. The scum thrown up 

 by the boiling juice must be carefully skim- 

 med off. Not more than eight minutes' 

 boiling should be required. Longer boiling 

 darkens the product, and also reduces its 

 sweetness. The degree of condensation re- 

 quired to jelify differs with different fruits. 

 Usually, in making apple jelly, five parts of 

 juice make one of jelly. To one hundred 

 pounds of clear juice is added about twenty 

 pounds of sugar. The product is forty 

 pounds of sweetened jelly. This can be 

 sold at a handsome profit. 



perimental stages, and opinions given on 

 very many of its problems must necessarily 

 be tentative rather than positive. 



The Apple Package 



FOR soft early apples the barrel is quite 

 • out of the question. It holds too 

 many, and they crush each other as they 

 ripen by their own weight. Besides, no one 

 wants a barrel at a time of such perishable 

 stock. At one time we thought the half- 

 bushel package best for Astrachans, and put 

 up our crop for export in §uch boxes, but 

 the buyers advise the bushel box as best for 

 all apples. Fortunately our association at 

 its last meeting agreed on a box lo x ii x 

 20 inches, inside measure, for the use of 

 Ontario fruit growers, and this will no doubt 

 suit the Northwest trade for early apples. 

 British Columbia apple shippers, who are 

 competing with us for the Northwest trade, 

 will probably agree to a bushel box of the 

 same size, as indeed it differs very little from 

 the box already in use in that province. 

 This box is offered us at about $12 a hun- 

 dred, a price not exceeding the cost of the 

 barrel package for the same quantity of 

 fruit.— W. 



