212 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



with wide spaces between, annually reach the markets of our Eastern 

 cities, and as the package commonly sells the fruit, low prices may 

 always be guaranteed for such a package, regardless of its contents. 

 On the other hand, the pear box on this model made of neatly 

 dressed half-inch pine or similar wood, can be made really a fancy 

 package, and if the fruit is wrapped in paper, and carefully sorted 

 and packed, it may bring the best prices in the market. In New 

 York State and New England bushel kegs are very largely used for 

 shipping Bartlett, Anjou, and other pears. A still larger package 

 is the pear barrel, a special barrel made for shipping pears, smaller 

 and with less bulge than the apple barrel, and holding about 2 1 /4 

 bushels. Kieffer pears, and very commonly the Southern Le Conte 

 pears, are frequently shipped in regular apple barrels. 



If the grower ships to a commission house, it will be wise to 

 consult the commission merchant as to the form of package which 

 suits the market demands of his city for the different grades and 

 varieties of his fruit. It is very often wise to put up the fancy fruit 

 in a fancy and perhaps small package and to put the poorer grades 

 into larger and cheaper packages. Usually nothing is gained by 

 deception in packing the fruit, especially if the grower expects to 

 use the same market repeatedly and to sell to the same consumers. 

 It is usually best to have a distinct brand or trade-mark if any con- 

 siderable quantity is to be sold. If the fruit is really meritorious, 

 grocerymen and other fruit buyers will quickly become familiar 

 with this mark and will come back and call for it again. Fruit 

 which is known by a brand will often sell readily and quickly for 

 50 per cent more than other fruit equally as good, but not known 

 to be so by the buyer. (Y. B. 1900.) 



QUINCE. 



The quince is a native of Asia and southeastern Europe, and is 

 descended from the Cydonia vulgaris. The quince is propagated: 

 (a) By cuttings of the new wood planted in autumn and from cut- 

 tings of the surface roots. (6) By mound layering, (c) By bud- 

 ding and grafting the cultivated varieties on the free-growing Angers 

 quince, (d) By grafting long quince scions on short pieces of ap- 

 ple roots, which are broken off after one year. This method is suc- 

 cessful with some varieties that do not grow easily from cuttings. 

 The quince is also used as a stock for dwarfing pears. Rich, moist, 

 not wet soil is best. (6) Plant about 12 by 12 feet apart, (c) Avoid 

 much stable manure, as it has a tendency to encourage fire blight. 

 Maynard recommends 300 to 500 pounds of sulphate of potash and 

 500 to 1,000 pounds of ground bone per acre as a fertilizer. Little 

 pruning is required except to keep the suckers off the trunk and 

 roots. The trees should branch close to the ground. The fruit 

 should be picked when it begins to turn yellow. It requires great 

 care in handling, as it bruises easily, but will keep a month or more. 

 It is used mostly for canning. (U. S. E. S. B. 178.) 



Notes on Varieties. Alaska Not so large as Orange, otherwise 

 not very different from it. Orange Large, yellow: quality good; 

 productive and a valuable market variety. Meech Of medium size ; 



