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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



September, 1908 



Harvesting and Marketing Grapes 



G. H. Carpenter, 



CARE and intelligence must be ex- 

 ercised in the handling and mar- 

 keting of grapes. The fruit will 

 not ripen off the vines. It must be pick- 

 ed when mature; consequently, the pick- 

 ing must be carefully done in order that 

 the fruit will reach the consumer in good 

 condition. 



PACKAGES AND PACKING 



For commercial .purposes, the fruit is 

 picked in nine-quart baskets. Where a 

 high-class trade is being supplied, small- 



High Quality Grapes Well Packed 



er and fancier packages are used. In 

 this latter instance, the finest should 

 be re-packed in a packing house in order 

 to ensure a high-class article. In any 

 case, if a superior and attractive looking 

 package is desired, the fruit should be 

 re-packed, care being taken in the final 

 packing to pick off all green and broken 

 berries. This requires a little more work 

 than where the fruit is handled only 

 once, but it is work well expended. 



CO-OPERATIVE MARKETING 



There are various ways of disposing of 

 the crop after it is harvested. Local 

 fruit associations are important factors 

 in this regard. When a number of grow- 

 ers co-operate to sell their fruit, a more 

 uniform product is put up, a better mar- 

 ket usually is secured and more remun- 

 erative prices are obtained, than though 

 growers were to work individually and 

 possibly cut one another as is frequent- 

 ly done. 



SELLING TO CANNERIES 



The canning factory, too, presents a 

 good market for this fruit. When a fac- 

 tory is being supplied, the fruit is picked 

 in large baskets and shipped in them or 

 in barrels. No second handling is re- 

 quired. The expense for harvesting 

 thereby is considerably lessened and the 

 general price ruling for wine grapes ad- 

 mits of as large a net profit almost as 

 is realized on the fruit when sold for 

 direct consumption. The factory also of- 

 fers a place for the disposal of all over- 



Pruitland, Ontario 



ripe fruit, which otherwise would be 

 wasted. 



SELLING TO LOCAL BUYERS 



The locaJ buyer offers another means 

 of disposing of the fruit. This method 

 is frequently much less satisfactory than 

 the others. It suggests the great need 

 •for grading this class of fruit. Where 

 the fruit is bought indiscriminately, the 

 price frequently is knocked down because 

 of the presence in a consignment of the 

 inferior product of some careless grower. 

 The producer of the superior article, in 

 this case, is the loser. He does not get 

 full value for his product and for the ex- 

 tra labor he has expended in putting it 

 up in an attractive form. 



THE SKILL OF MARKETING 



The successful growing of fruit and the 

 profitable marketing of that fruit are en- 

 tirely different problems. A man may be 

 a successful grower yet, owing to a lack 

 of business ability, placing the fruit on a 

 poor market may result in a financial 

 failure. The great point is to put the 

 fruit up in an attractive package. Good 

 fruit well packed in a smart and tasty 

 package will sell itself anywhere, and 

 bring a good price. In fact, the package 

 will sell it. Then, study the markets and 

 get the product in when good prices are 

 ruling. 



Manures for Orchards 



Alex. Mnir, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. 



My experience has been that worn 

 out soil can be brought back to a good 

 state of fertility by the application of 

 good long or green manure, plowed un- 

 der, thus putting life and humus into the 

 soil. But there is a great difference in 

 the qualities of manures. The common 

 barnyard manure puts humus into the 

 soil, but there is not the body nor sub- 

 stance in it that there is in manure from 

 well grain-fed stock and littered with 

 straw to absorb all urine and liquid mat- 

 ters. The best manure that I have ever 

 used is .S. W. Marchment's Complete 

 Compost. I have always got the best 

 results from it both for grain and fruit 

 farming. 



My experience and belief as to the 

 proper use for barnyard manure is to put 

 it on the land as it is made and not al- 

 low it to remain in the barnyard to fire- 

 fang, evaporate and have all the essence 

 leak out and run into some creek or ra- 

 vine. Marchment's Sure Growth Com- 

 post is composed of all kinds of manures, 

 which I have seen handled and mixed in 

 such a way that the manure is kept from 

 heating or fire-fanging, while at the same 

 time the ammonia in the manure is re- 



tained, which makes it one of the most 

 valuable of plant foods. 



Worn out land, after filled with humus 

 and brought up to a good state of fer- 

 tility, is very easily kept in that state 

 by top dressing with from four to five 

 tons per acre of good rotted manure, such 

 as Marchment's, which I have found 

 gives first class crops. A good take of 

 clover also is beneficial to any kind of 

 soil. My experience is that the old say- 

 ing, "If ever you get into debt, go for 

 manure," is a true one. 



Land bearing heavy crops year after 

 year must be fed well with good,.man- 

 ure. For a number of years I have 

 top-dressed my grain fields, orchards and 

 small fruits. I usually do this in the win- 

 ter time when there is not so much of 

 other work to be done and at a much 

 smaller cost than in the spring. I have 

 always had the best of results. 



With regards to commercial fertilizers, 

 I have bought every brand of commercial 

 fertilizer that was ever offered to me for 

 sale, for my private experimental pur- 

 pose's, but have had poor results with- 

 out a generous application of the ordr 

 inary raw manure. 



I have had fairly good results from 

 wood " ashes and muriate of potash. 

 Sandy soil is lacking in potash; there- 

 fore, I use a little of muriate of potash 

 in conjunction with good compost man- 

 ure which makes good stiff straw, and 

 more bushels, also a good quality of fruit 

 and lots of it. Moreover, I am convinc- 

 ed and my experience goes to prove that 

 I am correct, that the application of 

 good manure is not only very beneficial 

 to the land, but very profitable to the 

 producer. 



Picking Plums 



The exact time for picking plums can 

 be determined only by experience. It 

 will depend on the distance from the 

 market and on the shipping qualities of 

 the variety. Plums will bear picking . 

 when quite green, particularly the Japan- 

 ese varieties. When intended for a near- 

 by market, they may be left on the tree 

 as long as possible. 



Most of the Japanese varieties and 

 some others ripen very nicely after pick- 

 ing. They can be kept for three or four } 

 weeks in a fairly .cool, dark place, and. 

 come out in good condition. Sometimes _ 

 they can be kept much longer. As some 

 of the American varieties are apt to 

 break their skins when ripe, care should 

 be taken to pick them on the green side. J 



For the benefit of readers of The 

 Canadian Horticulturist in British 

 Columbia, the October issue will be der- 

 voted largely to the fruit interests of 

 that province. Tell your friends aboufc 

 it, and ask them to subscribe this month. 



