PREPARING PLUMS FOR MARKET. 



26: 



ing orchards is not appreciated as it should 

 be. Much of the land, especially along the 

 banks of the St. John river, appears to be 

 admirable in situation and soil for orchard- 

 ing, but much of it requires very careful 

 under draining before' succsssful orchards 

 can be obtained. There are so many springy 

 places, even on high land, that uniformity m 

 the orchard cannot be hoped for except by 

 under draining. 



The prospects for orcharding in New 

 Brunswick appear to me to be good. There 

 is, however, a lot of educational work to be 

 done. There is scarcely a farm upon which 



there is not at least five acres suitable for 

 orchard purposes. Presuming that fifty 

 trees were put upon an acre we should have 

 250 trees in each orchard of five acres. It 

 would not be too much to say that at the age 

 of eight years, when these trees are coming 

 into bearing, each tree would be at least 

 worth $10.00, so that practically the value 

 of the farm could be doubled in eight years 

 by placing an orchard upon it. This or- 

 chard would furnish remunerative employ- 

 ment for a large number of people, and thus 

 prove itself a benefit to every other industry 

 in the country. 



PREPARING PLUMS FOR MARKET. 



IN most cases experience has proven that 

 plums, if shipped to market in ten- 

 pound grape baskets, provided with handles, 

 and put up in neat, presentable shape, will 

 bring the producer a greater per cent, of 

 profit than if shipped in half-bushel, or 

 bushel crates, or packages. A careful picker 

 can fill the basket direct from the tree ; but 

 the usual plan is to pick into large recepta- 

 cles, then, carefully sorting the plums, to 

 place them in packages ready for the mar- 

 ket. This frequent handling removes a 

 great deal of the bloom from the fruit, which 

 removal should be avoided as much as possi- 

 ble. By the use of a single table, similar to 

 the one shown in the engraving, from the 

 American Agriculturist, plums and other 



Fig 2603. Fruit Sorting Table. 



similar fruits are easily sorted. The top of 

 the table should not be over three feet long 

 and two and one-half feet wide. The sides 

 and back, r, r, r, may be eight inches wide 

 at the back, tapering to three inches in front ; 

 the front guards, c, c, should be less than 

 three inches high, leaving a six-inch space 

 between the inner ends ; the slanting board, 

 g, is six inches wide. To operate it, place 

 the fruit carefully upon the table, the sorter 

 occupying a chair in front of the table, with 

 a basket on his lap. Both hands can then 

 be used in removing the leaves, limbs, dar.:- 

 aged or imperfect fruit, throwing the refuse 

 into baskets ; m, m, located upon the floor, 

 at a convenient point upon each side. The 

 perfect fruit or that intended for shipping, 

 is rolled in front, and passes over the incline, 

 g, into the basket. This table need cost but 

 little, and may be made in as crude or elabo- 

 rate a form as wished. In working, the 

 elbows can rest upon the guards, c, c, which 

 will make the operation much easier. An 

 ordinary table can be fitted with these sim- 

 ple appliances, and quickly removed after 

 the shipping season is passed. 



