September, 191 1 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



itt 



The Orchard of Joseph Gilhertion, Simcoe, Oot , which lait t(ir produced tome 800 bblt. of 85 to 90 , No. lljApplet. The Applet are Graded aid Packed ii the Orchard 



of the box as the apple package for New 

 Brunswick will be easier, I expect, than 

 it is proving to be in some other sections. 

 We have never really got into the barrel 

 trade, and consequently will have no 

 prejudices of custom to overcome. Our 

 newer plantings are being made with 

 the full expectation of marketing their 

 products in boxes. By the time these 

 new commercial orchards are in bearing, 

 it is more than probable that the box 

 package will have gained steadily in 

 favor and the tendency to use the barrel 

 be correspondingly lessened. 



The packs used most in boxing the 

 apples for the last year's exhibition were 

 the two and two and three and two dia- 

 gonal face, the straight, and the two and 

 two and three and two diagonal side 

 pack, all but the latter being shown on 

 the cover of this issue of The Canadian 

 Horticulturist. I think that with the 



proper growing and thinning of the fruit 

 on the trees, followed by careful grading 

 we shall find that most of our apples will 

 lend themselves to some form or other 

 of the diagonal pack. 



In conclusion, I would like to quote 

 the opinion of Prof. J, W. Crow, of the 

 Ontario Agricultural College, who, aiter 

 attending our apple show last year, said 

 in part in the December issue, 1910, of 

 The Canadian Horticulturist: "A 

 most striking feature was the wsmaiK- 

 ably high color of the fruit. If the fruit 

 exhibited at St. John is a fair sample of 

 what New Brunswick can grow, it is 

 safe to say that Ontario comes in second 

 in the matter of color. Of course it must 

 be borne in mind that the varieties prin- 

 cipally grown in New Brunswick are the 

 highly colored fruits, but even in these 

 varieties New Brunswick fruit would 

 compare very favorably with anything 

 produced in Ontario." The exceedingly 



high color and natural beauty of appear- 

 ance of our most successful varieties 



greatly enhance their value as box 

 apples. 



Harvesting and Marketing the Apple Crop 



P. J. Carey, Dominion Fruit Inspector, Toronto 



A great awakening has taken place 

 among the fruit growers of Ontario 

 along the line of the better care of or- 

 chards. Many now realize, after an ex- 

 perience covering nearly half a century, 

 that the methods of both growing and 

 handling their fruit have been faulty in 

 the extreme. Not until this late day, 

 however, has it dawned upon them that 

 thie fruit industry of Ontario is really 

 the business of the growers after all. 

 As a result of the pronounced movement 

 that is taking place in general orchard 

 management, there will be a vast im- 

 provement in the quality of the fruit 

 hereafter packed. A few suggestions, 

 therefore, along the line of the proper 

 harvesting and packing of the grown 

 product should be timely. A large pro- 

 portion of the fruit is in the hands of 

 cooperative asociations. Growers are 

 interested, therefore, in picking their 

 own fruit, and hence the necessity of a 

 little schooling along that line. 



PICKING FROM THE TREES. 



The part of the work most objection- 

 able to the grower is the picking o! the 

 fruit. This objection could be overcome 

 to a large extent if the proper facilities 

 for doing the work were at hand, such 

 as good ladders and baskets. In the 

 past this work was done entirely by the 

 outside dealer, and the grower not only 

 did not assist in the work, but in many 

 cases did not even visit the orchard 

 where the packing was being done. This 

 has helped to cause the distaste for the 

 work. 



The proper ladder calls for two re- 

 quirements, strength and lightness. 

 There are many makes on the market, 

 including some good ones . Perhaps the 

 most popular, in sections where apples 

 are largely grown, is the split cedar. 

 The ladders should be painted and kept 

 under cover when not in use. 



There are a number of different styles 

 of baskets, but it is generally conceded 

 that the half oval wicker basket, with 

 solid handles, is the best all round bas- 

 ket. The picking bag is used in some 

 sections. It is the most rapid method 

 of gathering the fruit, but it has the 

 fault that it bruises the more tender var- 

 ieties, unless great care is taken by 

 the operator. 



PACKING. 



Where central packing houses are not 

 used, and where the packing is done by 

 the growers or travelling gang, much 

 the better way is to pack in boxes or 

 crates. Later, remove these to some 

 building, and there re-pack and finish 

 for shipment. I hope that the time is 

 not far distant when every orchard of 

 any importance will have in or near it 

 a ijood-sized building (a cheap one will 

 answer the purpose) where the fruit can 

 be taken and properly packed in dry, 

 clean packages. This method has the 

 advantage of allowing the fruit to cool 

 off before it is packed. Besides being a 

 storage tor empty packages and picking 

 and for packing utensils, such a build- 

 ing can be utilized for other purposes. 



Perhaps the greatest abuse in the art 



