NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. 113 



Q. Who has fruited the Mesereau and Rathburn 

 Blackberries? 



A. Mr. Butler: We had one customer who fruited the 

 Mesereau and was much pleased with it. It is a great big 

 Snyder; turns red when ripe. It is a good berry. 



Q. Why should the price of nursery stock be advanced 

 this spring? 



A. President Hale: So the poor nurseryman can get 

 something for growing it and pay expenses. The last few 

 years nurserymen have all been running behind. Most of 

 them have been growing trees and plants at a loss. 

 Besides this, there is a greater demand for nursery stock 

 and a greater scarcity. 



Q. Is there any remedy for the cracking of certain 

 varieties of pears? 



A. Spraying with Bordeaux Mixture will make even 

 the Flemish Beauty fair and smooth. 



Q. What is the size of the California apple box? Is it 

 likely to take the place of the barrel in the Eastern 

 markets? 



A. Mr. Bennett: I think it will. It has been tried 

 and liked in the New York market. The size of the box is 

 twenty-two inches long, eleven and one-half inches wide 

 and ten and one-fourth inches deep, outside measurement. 

 It aims to hold fifty pounds of apples when well packed. 



Mr. Hoyt: I think this will add to the consumption of 

 apples. The barrel is too large for many families, as a 

 good many will rot before they are eaten, but a package of 

 this size will be about as many as an ordinary sized family 

 will want to purchase at one time. 



Q. Are we over doing peach culture in this State? 



A. Mr. Butler: I have seen a number that were not 

 over done in culture ! 



A. President Hale : We are producing more peaches in 

 Connecticut to-day than ever before, and if we attempt to 

 market them all in nearby towns we have over-produced 

 for those markets, but if we use business sense and business 

 methods and arrange with outside dealers. North, South, 

 East and West, we can raise ten times as many peaches as 

 we do now. New York never saw in any considerable 



