THE CANADIAN nORTICULTTTRTS T 



January, 'T i 



A Duchess Tree After Thinning 



'Phis tree was in one of the demonstration 



orchards in Durham <;ounty, Ont., where 



experiments in thinning showed a profit 



of over four dollars a. tree in favor 



of thinning. 



fruit carries mucii better. Wrap, too, 

 for markets where there is competition 

 wilh wrapped fruit from other districts. 



In wrapped fruit the top of the box 

 sliould be packed last, while in unwrap- 

 ed fruit the top is packed first. Packing 

 the top of wrapped fruit first is a very 

 poor method and should be discouraged, 

 as the smooth side of the wrapped fruit 

 lias to he turned down, and the loose 

 ends sticking up are very confusing to 

 the packer, making his work slower. 



WKAPPING PAPEK 



Tlie wrapping paper most commonly 

 used is called the "Duplex," from the 

 fact that one side is calendered and the 

 other rough. Ihis latter side is turned 

 to the fruits as it more readily absorbs 

 any surplus moisture. A white colored 

 wrapper is decidedly preferable as it 

 looks cleaner and neater than any others. 



Having paper with the name or trade 

 mark of the grower or association is an 

 excellent method of advertising. It is 

 not necessary to wrap all the apples in 

 such paper, but if the outside layers are 

 done and the trade mark is neat it adds 

 much to the attractiveness of the pack- 

 age. 



The pajxrr is cut into scver;d sizes to 

 correspond with the diflerenl sizes of ap- 

 ples. The following figures give a good 

 idea of the sizes most commonly in use : 



Eight by eight inches, for five-tier and 

 the smaller four and a half tier fruit. 



Eight by nine inches and eight by ten 

 for four and a half tier. 



Ten by ten inches foi' four li<'i' .nid the 

 sm.iller three and a half tier. 



Ton by twelve inches for \ery largo 

 fruit. 



These sizes should Ix; adhered to fair- 

 ly closely, as fruit packed with too large 

 a size paper gives a box light in weight, 

 and also gives the consumer the impres- 

 sion thai the price of the fruit is too 

 high. Using paper too small is also ob- 

 jectioniible in that a great deal of the ad- 

 vantage of wrapping is lost. It also in- 

 creases the labor (jf wrapping and pack- 

 ing to a considerable extent, as does also 

 paper that is too largx-. 



Unstenciled Duplex costs .ibout twelve 

 cents per ream f.o.b. shippinR point in 

 small quantities. For larger quantities 

 the price is correspondingly less. A 

 ream contains five hundred sheets, which 

 will pack about three boxes of apples, 

 making the cost per box four cents. 

 TRAY FOR WKAPPING PAPER 



For convenience and speed in wrap- 

 ping, a tray for holding the paper is 

 very necessar\ . They arc made so that 

 they can be placed on the side of the 

 packing box. 



To make one an applebox-end is usu- 

 ally taken and strips which project over 

 the edge about two inches are nailed on 

 three sides of it. On the under side a 

 three cornered block is nailed so that 

 one endge of it is even with the ofjen 

 side of the tray. This forms a bracket 

 or brace for supporting the tray when in 

 position on the box. 



Two. long nails are driven into the 

 open side of the tray, leaving about 

 three-fourths of an inch of their length 

 out. The heads are then cut off and the 

 nails bent down over a piece of iron or 

 wood a trifle thicker than the side of the 

 box. This forms hooks for hanging the 

 tray oh to the packing box. 



METHOD OF WRAPPING 

 Practically no time is lost in the op- 

 eration of wrapping as a skilled packer 

 picks up the apples wilh his right hand 

 while he reaches for the paper with the 

 left. To aid in picking up the paper it 

 is advisable to use a rubber stole on the 

 thumb or first fing.;;r. The apple is 

 placed in the centre of the paper in the 

 left hand with the side or end of the fruit 

 down which is to be packed uppermost. 

 The w rap is then made with both hands 

 by a couple of quick half-turns of the 

 wri?;t, the last of which brings the 

 smooth surface up and the bunch of 

 paper on the bottom. An expert packer 

 should wrap and pack fifty to one hun- 

 dred boxes a day, depending upon the 

 size and grading of the fruit. 



Summer Pruning 



When asked recently for his opinion 

 ctjiicerning the summer pruning of fruit 

 trees, Prof. C. L. Lewis, of the Oregon 

 .Agricultural College, replied a^ 

 follows: "I believe with trees three 

 to ten years old summer pruning, 

 il properly done, will have a very good 

 influence in keeping up certain charac- 

 teri.stics and tend to bring the trees into 

 Ijearing earlier. Certain trees, like the 

 Xfjrlhern Spy, have been materially 

 lx;nefitted. I have .seen indications all 

 over the coast of its being a hindrance. 

 In some cases the work has been over- 

 done and I feel that the trees have l)ecn 

 damaged. The tendency in mature and 

 bearing trees is to overdo. I have seen 

 rr.en cut off branches six inches in dia- 

 meter. I have watched a number of 

 orchards, two or three years old, and I 

 fail to .see any benefit from such work, 

 in fact the effect, if anything, was in- 

 jurious to the trees. 



"Of course summer pruniii^ (.,i, Ix; 

 done in two ways. One is to lielp shape 

 the tree, correct the habit of growth, 

 and perhaps time can be gained in that 

 way, and this type can Ix; done any 

 time you desire. I believe; however, it 

 should be done moderately and that one 

 should work with the idea of avoiding 

 undesirable growth and development by 

 early pinching and moderate cutting. I 

 believe in doing considerable work of 

 this kind with trees from three years 

 up, and perhaps two-year-old trees. 



"The second type of summer pruning 

 is to induce fruitfulness. You can in- 

 crease the accumulation of tissues 

 around the buds and around the bran- 

 ches by summer pruning, but whether 

 this will result in more fruitfulness and 

 stronger growth, is an open question. 

 Probably it would, like everything else, 

 be influenced by the general treatment 

 of the soil, the drainage it is getting, 

 any artificial stimulation it is receiving, 

 and similar factors. This second prun- 

 ing for fruit has to be done when the 

 trees are just in the right condition of 

 activity. If the frees are growing too 

 strongly the results are not secured." 



.\ny permanent organization, with a 

 large quantity of fruit to sell every vear, 

 under a uniform brand which will be a 

 guarantee of excellence, can make an im- 

 presion on the market. — Prof. Crow. 



Six fe"t by three feet anart is not too 

 much soace to devote to raspberries. 

 We find growing them in hills about six 

 canes to a hill is the most orofitable way 

 to have them. — W. |. Kerr, Ottawa, 

 Ont. 



Mildew, the great enemy of the Eng- 

 lish goo.seberry in this country, results 

 from planting in sandy .soil. The roots 

 of gooselx^rry bushes run close to the 

 surface and con.sequently they become 

 scorched. They should be planted in 

 soil that won't heat, such as hea^^ clay 

 lo.im. Mulch for the surface will also 

 overcome it. -R. B. Whyte, Ottawa, 

 Ont. 



