.October, 1916. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



239 



hough we may admire the four-basket 



•rate used by our California and Pacific 



■tnist friends, I am convinced that 



here is no better package in which to 



iiarket our eastern-grown plums, 



reaches, peai's and grapes than the six 



ind eleven quart basket. The six-quart 



basket is preferred for plums because 



jin the eleven-quart baskets the weight 



on the bottom layers is so greait as to 



cause waste and disfigure the packages. 

 The" m'aaiy shortcomings of our pre- 

 sent legislation governing the packages 

 and packing of small fruit have been 

 revealed through the progressiveness 

 of our fruit growers, aaid had it not 

 been for the conditions brought about 

 by the war advanced legislation would 

 in all probaibility be in effect to-day. 



(Continued on page 259.) 



Points to Watch Ordering Nursery Stock* 



H. S. Fry, B.S.A., O.A.C., Guelph, Ont. 



AT this season of the year many 

 fruit growers are planning for 

 increased plantings either this 

 fall or next spring. The degree of suc- 



ss they will meet will depend to a 

 jcuusiderable extent upon the thorough- 

 ness with which they guard the little 

 points which often largely go\ern the 

 character of the results later obtained. 



There is comparatively little fall 

 planting practiced in Ontario. The 

 main objection to fall planting is that 

 nursery stock in "Ontario does not ma- 

 ture early enough to allow of planting 

 in the fall. This is a result of the con- 

 tinued demand for stock for spnng 

 planting. The nurseryman caters to 

 the public. If the majority of planters 

 want stock for spring planting the 

 nurseryman naturally does not make 

 the provision for maturing his stock 

 for fall plajuiting that he otherwise 

 would. Considering the difficulty of 

 securing labor in spring, perhaps fall 

 planting would bo preferable for mo,st 

 kinds of fruit, provided it were possible 

 to get matured stock. 



• This article was written by an editor of 

 The Canadian Horticulturist from notes taken 

 during a recent irterview with Mr. Fry. 



The majority of fruit growers do not 

 buy as intelligently as the minority. 

 It is the majority to which the nursery- 

 man caters, and when they realize that 

 fall planting is satisfactory and begin 

 to act accordingly, the nurseryman will 

 prepare to meet their requirements. 



Now is the time to order stock for 

 next spring's delivery. The nursery- 

 men show few favoritisms. Their me- 

 thod is, first come, first served. The 

 earlier you get your order in the 

 greater chance you will have of getting 

 good stock, and of having it arrive at 

 the proper time next spring. 



Before communicating with a nur- 

 seryman have .your mind made up as to 

 exactly what j'ou want. Know what 

 varieties you are going to plant, what 

 age of stock you prefer, and the grade. 

 The varieties, of course, will depend on 

 the choice of the grower, and to some 

 extent on the district. The grade 

 should be always No. 1, except in rare 

 cases where one may get an exception- 

 ally good lot of No. 2 stock. Remem- 

 ber that the initial cost is immaterial 

 when you consider that these trees will 

 likely remain in the ground fifty or 

 more .vears. 



■riii.s photofrra.ph of the packinff house at Port William. N.S., gives some Idea of the extent 

 w^ioh cooijerative maj-ketlng has reached in this district. 



When it comes to choosing the proper 

 age of stock to plant there is a wide 

 variation in the opinions of good fruit 

 growers. The majority of stock plant- 

 ed is two-j-ear-old, but some good fruit 

 groAvers favor three-year and some one- 

 year stock. The reasons given, of 

 course, are very different, but each 

 grower is usually convinced that his 

 way is best. 



The reasons advanced in favor of one- 

 year-old stock are mainly those relating 

 to the heading of trees. The nursery- 

 man heads trees to suit the average 

 planter. The intelligent planter, how- 

 ever, may Avant loAV-headed trees, be- 

 cause of the lesser number of windfalls 

 and the greater ease of harvesting the 

 fruit. At present, the man who wants 

 a low-headed tree must purchase one- 

 year-old stock, so that he can head the 

 trees himself, or if he wants to plant 

 tAvo-year-old stock, he must go to the 

 nurseryman a year before he wants the 

 trees and have them headed low es- 

 pecially for him. Against the one-year- 

 old stock, the chief fault is that appar- 

 ently it would require one to two years 

 longer to bring these trees into bearing 

 than if two or three-year-old stock 

 were used. 



The popularity of the two-year-old 

 tree probablv follows from its being 

 already headed for the average bu.yer, 

 and its being of a convenient size to 

 handle. It is an average tree for an 

 average man. 



Some good groweirs assert that the 

 three-year-old trees come into bearing 

 so much earlier than the others that it 

 pays them to buy trees of this age, and 

 through pruning work for a compara- 

 tively loAv-headed tree. The practice 

 of planting three-year-old trees obtains 

 Avidely among growers of the Spy apple. 

 The Spy is naturally a very slow tree 

 to come into bearing. To cut down this 

 time they Avork from both ends— they 

 ii.se three-yeair-old trees of some early- 

 bearing stock, and top graft to Spy. 



For the man Who intends setting out 

 any considerable number of trees next 

 spring, the Avisest thing he can do is to 

 pay a visit to the nursery and choose 

 per.sonally the block of trees he wants. 

 In the fall the nurseryman strips the 

 loaves off his vstock, digs up "nis trees 

 and heels them in for spring shipment. 

 If the buyer Avill visit the nnvser^' bo- 

 fore the trees are dug, he will be able to 

 see the stock he is ordering. It is pos- 

 sible that the nur.seryman Avill not care 

 to haAJ-e his plans disorganized by the 

 individual buyer, but if the grower can 

 choose his stock, throe benefits will be 

 effected. 



Pii-st. — There Avill be less chance of 

 disagreement between the nurseryman 

 and tbo customer. 



Second. — There will be less danger 

 of the stock's coming untrue to name. 



