1886 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



847 



many centuries on one side of a vast ocean, 

 without enterprise enough to get across and 

 see what was on the other side. No disre- 

 spect intended to you, friend B. 



SELLING THINGS BY AATEIGHT IN- 

 STEAD OF BY THE BUSHEL. 



"W. J. Green, of the Experimental College 

 (Columbus, O.), Gives us some Valu- 

 able Facts in the Matter. 



ALS(J SOMETHING ABOUT KAISING STRAWBEK- 

 lUES IN THE FALL. 



Irish potatoes. 

 Sweet " 

 Beans, shelled. 

 Peas, 



Dried apples, 

 " peaches. 



Onions, - .50 lbs. 

 Tomatoes, 56 " 

 Turnips, 60 " 

 Apples, 48 " 

 Peaches, 48 " 



TTj; EARLY all vegetables and fruits vary great- 

 ly! b' in weight at different times of the year. 

 r^ The size of individual specimens that make 

 ^T up a given bulk affects the weight consid- 

 erably. There is also much more difference 

 in varieties than is commonly supposed. A bush- 

 el of " Peck's Pleasant " apples weighs about 55 

 lbs.; but the same bulk of some sorts weighs not 

 more than 45 lbs. Peerless potatoes weigh more 

 than most other sorts. White onions are usually 

 not so heavy as red or yellow. 



I give you below the legal weight per bushel of 

 vegetables, fruits, etc. 



60 lbs, 



50 " 



60 " 



60 " 



23 " 



33 " 



A bushel, as applied to fruits and vegetables, is 

 a very indefinite quantity, and ought to be nban- 

 doned as a standard. There is no possibility of set- 

 tling upon a given bulk or weight for a bushel that 

 will be satisfactorj' and fair at all times. If we agree 

 upon the weight of a bushel, and establish it by law, 

 as has been done, then there will be a variation of 

 from 5 to 20 per cent in the cubic contents. If the 

 other course were taken, and we agree upon the 

 cubic contents of a bushel, then there will be the 

 same variation in the weight. 



The best thing that our legislators could do for us 

 in this matter would be to repeal the law, and thus 

 leave us without a legal bushel for fruits and veg- 

 etables. We should then take the only course left, 

 and sell by weight. This would do away with "false 

 bottoms" and man}- other easy ways of cheating. 

 If it did not make people honest, it would at least 

 make dishonesty more difficult. The only class that 

 are now benefited by the legalized bushel are the 

 dealers. They buy by weight when they find it to 

 their advantage to do so, and it often is, but to the 

 groat disadvantage of the grower. These same 

 dealers retail, not by weight, but by measure, 

 which often gives them a fine profit, even at the 

 same price per bushel at which they buy. The con- 

 sumer might, of course, demand a legal bushel, but 

 he seldom does so. In cities, a large share of the 

 fruits and vegetables are sold by hucksters, and 

 nothing better for their purpose could possibly be 

 invented than the bushel measure and its fractional 

 parts. They can make a bushel and a half out of CO 

 lbs. of potatoes, without the least difficulty, and 

 with little fear of detection. 



STKAWBEKRIES IfJ THE FALL. 



The strawberries that j'ou saw in Indianapolis 

 were probably grown near that city, although they 

 might have come from New York, or, more likely, 



fi'om Tennessee or some other part of the South, 

 where it is not uncommon to grow a second' crop. 

 We have here at Columbus a small second crop al- 

 most every year, of some varieties. Occasionally 

 the product is sufficient to pay for picking and 

 marketing; at least, such a thing has been done 

 near here. The Cumberland Triumph is the variety 

 for the purpose, as it is almost the only one that 

 gives us any quantity of fruit in the fall. The es- 

 sential condition to produce a second crop is, that 

 the plants shall have almost a complete rest after 

 fruiting, for a month or more, and then be brought 

 into vigorous growth. When a drought occui'S dur- 

 ing July or August, succeeded by a warm wet Sep- 

 tember, we may expect plenty of Cumberlands in 

 September or October 



If you do not wish to trust to nature to give you 

 a second crop you may get one in a small way by 

 artificial means. If you should force any straw- 

 berry-plants in the greenhouse for early beri-ies you 

 can use those same plants for a fall crop by simply 

 keeping them dry for a few weeks during the sum- 

 mer, and then force them into growth again. 

 Doubtless other ways might be devised to accom- 

 plish the same ends, but I will trust you, Mr. Root, 

 to find out ways and means, if you want the hcrrics. 



Columbus, O. W. J. Green. 



Friend G., I am very much obliged indeed 

 for tlie facts furnished. I notice tliat tlie 

 matter has been pondered by wiser and more 

 experienced lieads than my own ; but I do 

 thinlc we shouhi do every thing in our pow- 

 er to liave our weights and measures so tliey 

 will discourage attempts at fraud. I hope 

 it is not true that all hucksters are as unprin- 

 cipled as you mention, but I very well know 

 that many of them are. It seems to me the 

 adoption of weights, instead of bushels, will 

 be a very great advance, and I do wish it 

 were possible to adopt the decimal system 

 of weights and measures, when we once get 

 about it. When I adopted the plan of sell- 

 ing celery by the pound, I supposed we had 

 got at something definite, so as to make it 

 fair for all parties; but during a drought our 

 White Plume became so destitute of sap that 

 it took a great deal more in bulk to malve a 

 poiuid than it did of the Golden Dwarf and 

 some other varieties. I also found that dip- 

 ping it in water not only improved its ap- 

 pearance when it was a little inclined to 

 wilt, but that the adhering water added 

 much to its weight. In fact, we told a pur- 

 chaser who had bought quite a lot, w^e 

 would cheerfully wash it all for him for noth- 

 ing if he preferred. He caught at the idea 

 at once, and said he preferred the " un- 

 washed.'' This same thing holds true of let- 

 tuce and a great many other things. I do 

 not see any real substantial remedy except 

 the golden rule.— I know there are occasion- 

 ally a few berries in the fall, but those that 

 I saw at Indianapolis were extremely large ; 

 in fact, they were larger than berries often 

 seen on the market in regular strawberry 

 time. Had it not ))een for their great size 

 they would hardly have sold at 50 cents a 

 (luart, when tine peaches and other fruits 

 could be had at moderate prices. One thing 

 that struck me in their appearance was 

 their light color. They were large, and of 

 pretty fair shape, but very light colored for 

 strawberries. 



