The Canadian Horticdlturistw 43 i 



manure, and the spinach got no good from it until quite late. Had I used the 

 nitrate, I could have had the spinach sold off sooner, would have got more of 

 it and for it, and could have set out my cabbage and lettuce earlier. 



I think I planted too close, or should have left out every fourth row, as I 

 found that many plants were damaged in hoeing, weeding and transplanting. 

 The moral of this, to me, is : Stop spreading yourself and your manure over 

 many acres, work only as much land as you can fertilize, and cultivate in the 

 most thorough manner, and devote your best energies to getting the greatest 

 possible crops from it. Try to raise 500 bushels of potatoes on one- acre instead i 

 of I, 10 or 20 — its much less work. — R. N. Y. 



Care of Apples. — There is no question about the importance of, so far 

 as possible, preventing the bruising of the fruit. From what has been said in 

 strong terms concerning the barrier of a tough skin which nature has placed 

 upon the apples, it goes without saying that this defence should not be ruthlessly 

 broken down. It may be safely assumed that germs of decay are lurking almost 

 everywhere, ready to come in contact with any substances. A bruise or cut in 

 the skin is, therefore, even worse than a rough place caused by a scab fungus 

 on a lodgment provided by the minute spores of various sorts. If the juice 

 exudes, it al once furnishes the choicest of conditions for molds to grow. An 

 apple bruised is a fruit for the decay of which germs are specially invited, and 

 when such a specimen is placed in the midst of other fruit it soon becomes a 

 point of infection for its neighbors on all sides. Seldom is a fully rotten apple 

 found in a bin without several others near it being more or less affected. A 

 rotten apple is not its brother's keeper. Fhe surrounding conditions favor or 

 retard the growth of the decay fungi. If the temperature is near freezing they 

 are comparatively inactive, but when the room is warm and moist the fruit can- 

 not be expected to keep well. Cold storage naturally checks the decay. The 

 ideal apple has no fungous defacements and no bruises. If it could be placed 

 in a dry, cool room free from fungous germs, it ought to keep indefinitely until 

 chemical change ruins it as an article of food. — Germantown Telegraph. 



Grapes never ripen any after picking. All that can be expected in the 

 way of change is the evaporation of some of the water and finally decay. They 

 must be in perfect condition for eating when plucked, or the full value of the 

 fruits will be missed. They should be plucked as soon as ripe, however, and 

 be stored away in some cold place. They can be preserved even longer than 

 pears. Raspberries, strawberries and blackberries gain very little after picking. 

 They should be allowed to reach their full growth before picking, but they are 

 worthless for keeping if allowed to reach the stage commonly known as " dead 

 ripe." They are then unfit for shipping. Practically the destructive forces have 

 already started into operation at that point, and nothing will check them after 

 such a start. — Rural World. 



