212 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



September, 1907 



arrives on the other side, than all 

 other causes combined. Shippers of 

 fruit do not seem to appreciate this fact, 

 as no special effort is made to cool the 

 fruit before shipping. It is a common 

 occurrence, especially in the rrfonth of 

 September, to see carload after carload 

 of apples going aboard ship in a heated 

 condition, and showing a temperature of 

 as high as eighty-five degrees, and large 

 quantities of the fruit in the first stages 

 of decay. It is needless to say that 

 fruit shipped under these conditions can 

 bring nothing but failure as a result. 

 Experiments have shown that fruit 

 packed and closed in a barrel in warm 

 conditions, and placed in a low tempera- 

 ture, will take from six to seven days to 

 cool at the centre ; hence, the necessity 

 of packing cool. 



A WORD ABOUT SHIPPING FACILITIES 



For the last season or two, shippers 

 know too well of their troubles in secur- 

 ing proper cars for carrying fruit to the 

 seaboard. The greater trouble is in 

 the winter traffic, and it is a deplorable 

 fact that thousands of barrels of our 

 choicest fruit have been practically lost 

 through being frozen while in transit. 



The damage in this way is far-reach- 

 ing. It is not only the actual quantity 

 frozen from which we suffer, but when 

 a ship arrives on the other side and 

 traces of frost are found, the whole cargo 

 often is reported frosted, when perhaps 

 only a few cars are damaged, and as a 

 consequence all shippers who are un- 

 fortunate enough to have apples on that 

 boat will suffer. 



The problem that is up to the growers 

 and handlers of fruit to work out is the 

 remedy or remedies for all the defects 

 along the line of handling, in order that 

 they may make the most of their great 

 possibilities. The fruit growers of On- 

 tario have within their grasp one of the 

 best means of money making in the 

 land if their operations are guided by 

 common sense, application and honesty. 



Pointers on Box PacKing 



Robt. Thompson, St. Catharines, Ont. 



We hear expressions from some of 

 our growers that box packing is not 

 on the increase, but any one in touch 

 with the buying pubUc will testify 

 that never before has there been so 

 many enquiries for box fruit. I had 

 much pleasure in looking over Mr. A. 

 McNeill's bulletin on "Packing of Ap- 

 ples in Boxes and Barrels." Mr. Mc- 

 Neill evidently has taken a good deal 

 of pains to gather all the information 

 available and to present it in good 

 form. 



I wish to emphasize one or two 

 points. First, as to the material in 

 the box ; the ends must not be lighter 

 than five-eighth inches and three- 

 quarters is preferable. The sides three- 



eighth inches and the top and bottom 

 one-quarter inch. If poor pine or poor 

 material is used, it may be necessary 

 to use one-half inch for sides, and 

 three-eighths for top and bottom, but 

 I would prefer to refuse such material. 

 Second, the fruit, whether it be apples, 

 pears or peaches, must be placed tightly 

 in the box and well filled in the centre 

 so as to have a good bilge. For the 

 ordinary everyday commercial pack, 

 especially for beginners, it will be 

 better to use the three and a half or 

 four and a half tier pack, made by 

 placing the fruit of the second row in 

 the space between the fruit below and 



A Home-Made Nailing Bench and Box Press 



Diagramatic sketch of bench used in packing house of 

 Mr. A. E. Sherrington, Walkerton. Ontario. A similar 

 one could be constructed by any fruit grower. It is 

 simple, cheap and efficient. 



not directly on top of each other. 

 This style of a pack not only is easier 

 to do, but will remain tight better and 

 carry the fruit in better shape. 



Another suggestion I would give Mr. 

 McNeill is that he start a movement to 

 amend the Fruit Marks Act by adding 

 to the box regulations that all fruit in 

 boxes must be placed in tiers. My 

 reason for giving this is that some of 

 our fruit men are facing the fruit in 

 the first tier of the box, and then pour- 

 ing in the fruit, filling the balance of 

 the box indiscriminately. I know of 

 one place where this is followed, and 

 the price the pack is quoted at is sev- 

 enty-five cents a box for apples, and 

 same place is offering barrels for $2.25 

 for No. 1. Any person who has any 

 knowledge of packing knows that at 

 these figures the barrels will net the 

 grower or packer more money, pro- 



vided the boxes were packed properly* 

 but when a quotation as above goes 

 out as against $1.00, or even $1.25, as 

 many apples in boxes are being quoted, 

 the buyer will naturally think the low 

 figure will be the cheaper, when in 

 reality it is the dearest. To under 

 take to put fruit in boxes without layer 

 ing at once shows that the packer ha^ 

 not the first idea of box packing. 



Harvesting BlacKberries 



H. S. Peart, B.S.A., Jordan Harbor, Ont. 



The blackberry deserves rather more 

 recognition than it is receiving from 

 professional fruit growers in southern 

 Ontario. It succeeds best on sandy 

 loams that are fairly well drained. The 

 objection has been raised that it is diffi- 

 cult to harvest, but this objection does 

 not discourage the grower who prunes 

 his plants properly. 



The blackberry is not ripe when it 

 first becomes black. Many growers 

 make a practice of picking as soon as 

 the fruit turns black and some even 

 earlier. This is a great mistake, as the 

 best quality is not yet developed. The 

 fruit should be allowed to remain on the 

 plant for at least one day after it has 

 turned black. For home use leave the 

 fruit until soft. Pick only when dry. 

 Pickers usually require frequent caution- 

 ing in order to prevent them from bruis- 

 ing the berries. 



The berries should be picked into 

 clean four-fifth quart or two-fifth quart 

 boxes in which they are to be sent to 

 market. The smaller size is gaining in 

 favor as the fruit at the bottom of the 

 box is not so crushed as in the larger one. 

 Fill as full as the shelving in the crates 

 will allow so that the package will 

 present a full appearance when placed 

 on the market. As with other small, 

 soft fruits, only gift packages should be 

 used. No other one thing detracts so 

 much from the appearance, and con- 

 sequently the ready sale of any product, 

 as stained crates and boxes. 



After picking, the fruit soon becomes 



brown and acquires a bitter taste if 



• allowed to remain in the sun. The 



sooner it can be removed to a cool, shady 



place the better. 



A good fancy trade may be worked up 

 for blackberries in most of our cities, as 

 the bulk of the fruit offered is inferior. 

 A high-grade article will well repay the 

 extra trouble incident to the establish- 

 ing of a good trade with special cus- 

 tomers. 



Gather and bum the broken boxes in 

 the berry patch. 



I 



A cover crop sown in the orchard 

 this month will hasten maturity of 

 wood in the fall and protect the trees in 

 winter. 



