^0 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



needs to be attended to with more care 

 and nicety than the condition in which 

 the frnit reaches the consumer, and no 

 part of the business yields as great a 

 return as the attention bestowed upon 

 this apparently little matter. Were 

 our farmers to assort their apples into 

 first and second quality, putting up as 

 first quality only those apples which 

 were of full size for the particular va- 

 riety, and that were free from every 

 blemish, and putting up as second 

 quality those that could be fairly classed 

 as such, rejecting altogether or selling 

 for cider-making all else, they would 

 frequently receive more for the first- 

 class apples alone than they now obtain 

 for the entire crop, besides establishing 

 a reputation for their brand that would 

 enable them always to command a ready 

 sale ; and what is true of apples is true 

 of every description of fruit. 



If grapes are torn roughly from the 

 vines, tossed into two bushel baskets 

 and hurried in a lumber waggon to the 

 nearest market, no wonder that the 

 bruize^d, dripping beiries are passed by, 

 and if sold at last, sold for almost no- 

 thing. Were the same grapos brought 

 to market in a clean and attractive con- 

 dition, they would sell without trouble 

 at the full market price. 



In order to have the grapes reach 

 market in the best possible condition, 

 and particularly when they must be 

 transported to some considerable dis- 

 tance, they should be gathered only 

 when they are dry, the clusters cut 

 carefully from the vine, and laid into 

 shallow baskets without handling more 

 than is absolutely necessary, so as to 

 preserve as much of the bloom upon 

 the berries as possible. They should 

 not be piled up, but kept spread out 

 thinly, so that the weight of the fruit 

 shall not break the berries beneath. 

 After gathering they should be taken 

 to some cool, well-aired room for two 

 or three days, and some of the super- 



fluous moisture allowed to evaporate. 

 This will toughen the skins no that 

 they will not burst so easily upon being 

 slightly pressed. The clusters should 

 be lifted up carefully by the stem, and 

 all unripe or defective, bruized or 

 broken berries cut off" with sharp- 

 pointed scissors. They may now be 

 laid into the boxes in which they are 

 to be transported to market. These 

 boxes should not be large nor deep, but 

 shallow, and made to hold only a few 

 pounds. The best boxes for this pur- 

 pose are made of a thin veneer of elm 

 or whitewood or bass wood. They are 

 made of various forms and sizes, some 

 are round and some are square. I 

 prefer the square form, for the reason 

 that they can be packed more com- 

 jiactly into a case, and a given weight 

 of fruit will occupy less space. The 

 grapes should be packed in these boxes 

 as compactly as possible without break- 

 ing any of the berries, and so that when 

 the lid is closed upon them they will 

 be lightly pressed. This will prevent 

 the fruit from shaking about in the 

 boxes. Cases should be made so thnt 

 these boxes when filled will fit snugly 

 into them, and made as light as is com- 

 patible with the needel strength, and 

 of a size that a man can handle one of 

 them without effort when filled with 

 the boxes of fruit. When tliese cases 

 are filled and closed, there should be no 

 space for the boxes of fruit to rattle 

 about, but each box should be held 

 firmly in its place. In this condition 

 the grapes can be sent to any market 

 within ieach of rail or water communi- 

 cation, and will arrive in good condition 

 and sell for the best price. 



It is usual in filling these boxes to 

 fasten the top on the box and o])en the 

 bottom, and then pack the finest-looking 

 and most showy clusters first, using 

 smaller clusters if need be in filling up, 

 but not putting in any berries of in- 

 ferior quality. When the box is full 



