The Canadian Horticulturist. 



277 



SIZE OF FRUIT PACKAGES. 



The following weights and sizes of fruit packages have been widely 

 adopted in the United States : — 



Box. 



Apples 



Pears 



Berry — 24 boxes . 

 Berry — 4 baskets 

 Plum or Peach . . 

 Cherry , . 



Lineal Measurement. 



a 



19| 



19| 



19f 



17 



19f 



19| 



11 



H 

 U 

 H 

 H 



12 



Hi 

 13| 

 16 

 IH 



9i 



19| 



19| 



19f 



171 



19 



195 



The 5 and 6 inch plum or peach boxes are not included in these weights 

 but go on actual weight, to be determined hereafter. The railroads measure 

 all boxes by extreme outside measurements. This action will result in con- 

 siderable saving of time and expense in rating cars, as the weight will be deter- 

 mined by counting boxes instead of continuous weighing. 



Ippigation in the East has been made a special study by Prof. F. M. 

 Rane, at the West Virginia and New Hampshire experiment stations. In bulletin 

 33, W, Va, he described sub-irrigation in greenhouses, which has since come 

 into quite general use, and bulletin 34, N.H., shows that the same system works 

 well out doors. By this system, the water is applied below the plants by means 

 of lines of tile placed from six inches to two feet below the surface and from 6j4 

 to 40 ft. apart, having a drop of about one inch per 100 ft. By this plan the 

 surface soil never bakes or surface-hardens, plants run very evenly, soil can be 

 worked at any time and can be kept in better condition, less water is required, 

 the tile serves to both water the beds and retain the moisture, surface evapora- 

 tion is slight, fungus diseases are not so prevalent, and the openings underneath 

 the soil allow the free access of air so that the soil never becomes sour or stagnant. 

 Where it is desirable to get the water to the roots of plants with as little waste 

 as possible, it may be run through common porous 2)4 inch drain tiles laid end 

 to end on the surface of the soil between the rows of vegetables. By stopping 

 up the further end, the water leaks through the joints sufificiently to moisten the 

 plants at either side. In the case of celery, the tile are run beside the rows and 

 covered up as the plants are banked up, this proving sub-irrigation in the latter 

 part of the season. This plan is a great economizer of time in watering, saves 

 water, applies it where the plant cannot help but receive benefit from the water, 

 and is simple, practical and inexpensive. Prof. Rane concludes that sub-irrigation, 

 surface irrigation, cultivation, mulching and subsoiling are all methods of 

 counteracting drouth that can be applied at a practical profit on many farms in 

 the middle and eastern states. 



