126 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



March, 



Packages for Shipping and Market- 

 ing Small Fruits. 



T, T. LYON, VAN BUREN CO., MICH. 



The modern requirement, at least at the 

 West, is that such delicate fruits as Rasp- 

 berries and Blackberries be put up in either 

 pints or quarts; and, in the case of Red 

 Raspberries, pints are always to be preferred. 

 To be entirely satisfactory the packages 

 should possess the following characteristics: 

 They must be cheap enough to be given 

 away, with the fruit, when the latter is sold: 

 and yet they must be neat, clean, compact, 

 and easily handled. 



For convenient handling, the boxes or 

 baskets should be put up in crates or boxes, 

 properly ventilated, in even parts of a 

 bushel; the crates also to be cheap enough 

 not to require that they be returned to the 

 shipper; which, if required is seldom satis- 

 factorily done; since, if returned, both boxes 

 or baskets and crates soon become so stained 

 and discolored with the juice of the fruit, 

 and otherwise, as to repel rather than at- 

 tract purchasers. 



Crates should be broader than high, so 

 that they will be less likely to be placed 

 upon the side or end, in the haste of hand- 

 ling. Three quarts in width by two in 

 height and four in length, (with a division), 

 is a very good size; as is also a similar ar- 

 rangement with pints. 



Quart and pint boxes are neatly and very 

 cheaply made of veneers, cut partially 

 through at the corners. These are very 

 convenient and in most respects very satis- 

 factory, though fragile. A nearly square, 

 slightly flaring basket, made of splints, is 

 much stronger and better ventilated, but 

 unfortunately, is somewhat more expensive, 

 although intended to be given with the fruit. 

 Currants and Cherries, being picked with 

 the stems, are decidedly better in baskets, 

 since they yield to slight pressure, without 

 special injury, while these afl:'ord more per- 

 fect ventilation. 



The stands or drawers, from which small 

 fruits were formerly scooped up with a 

 wooden paddle, and measured out to cus- 

 tomers , were always a sad drawback upon 

 the condition of small fruits, as sold in the 

 market; but these, we are happy to say, 

 have now been very generally superseded. 



Baskets are extensively used for Peaches 

 and Plums, and even for early Apples and 

 Pears, for which they appear to be well 

 adapted, although the use of an open cover, 

 with bright tarletan, to heighten the color 

 of the fruit, should be treated as .sin' cjcneris 

 with "facing" and other deceptive practices. 



return of his crates. As customers often 

 would not care to buy the entire contents of 

 a large crate while the smaller one just 

 suits, it is only a matter of time when the 

 old crates will be done away with. 



For Gooseberries, Currants, Grapes and 

 Peaches we now use a gauze covered market 

 basket containing from 13 to 16 quarts and 

 weighing from 18 to 2.") pounds. These cost 

 about 4 cents each and are weighed and sold 

 with the fruit. The old pail shaped Peach 

 baskets without handles have been deserv- 

 edly dropped. During the past year a smaller 

 basket with a wooden cover and costing a 

 little more has been somewhat used for 

 Grapes. They are I think more largely 

 used in the United States, and, as the gauze 

 is troublesome and liable to other objections, 

 the wood covered baskets will be very 

 largely used here in the future. 



The Canadian quart basket is narrower 

 and deeper than most of the American pat- 

 terns and contains the same amountof fruit 

 when neither is heaped. Our crates are 

 therefore smaller and deeper than similar 

 American ones. A few years since the large 

 Imperial quart was made the legal quart in 

 Canada. Berry baskets, however, are made 

 in one style only and have not been altered. 



Canadian Fruit Packages. 



E. MORDEN, NIAGARA FALLS, SOUTH ONTARIO. 



Until recently the greater proportion of 

 Canadian berries have been carried in box 

 crates containing .54 quart boxes. As these 

 weigh about 100 lbs. and are about 33 inches 

 in length and cost about 75 cents each they 

 are heavy and expensive. Of late years the 

 party who buys the berries usually steals 

 the small baskets, shelves and crates, which 

 of course means ruin to the grower. Com- 

 mission merchants seem to be able to endure 

 this shape of things but if they were the par- 

 ties to thus lose about one dollar on each 

 crate we should hear a great howl . 



The introduction of a basket crate holding 

 24 quart baskets and having a thin wooden 

 cover has improved the chances of the 

 growers. They cost about 12J^ cents each 

 and are stolen very promptly, being handy 

 and useful. Three of these, containing 72 

 baskets, rate at 100 lbs. and cost 2.5 per cent, 

 less for freight than the others, so the saving 

 in freight will enable the shipper to lose the 

 crates and baskets and yet be in as good a 

 position as the user of the box crates even if 

 the latter is fortunate enough to secure the 



Getting rid of the White Grub in 

 Strawberries. 



M. T. THOBIPSON, CUYAHOGA CO., O. 



My experience with the white grub in the 

 Strawberry beds, is as follows: Some years 

 ago I had a piece of land of about Ave acres, 

 one-half of which (2)^ acres) had been 

 planted the previous year to Corn, while 

 the other half was in Oats with which I had 

 sown Clover seed, so I had a fair Clover sod 

 to plow under, though I was somewhat 

 afraid of the white grub, but the Strawber- 

 ries all did well until about the latter part 

 of July, when the plants kept going until 

 not more than half pulled through; when 

 the ground was frozen hard enough I went 

 to work and hauled on about 20 loads to the 

 acre, of good rotten manure. The next sea- 

 son I had bright clean berries of Wilson 

 and Crescent. After fruiting I had the 

 patch cleaned out, and the following winter 

 I hauled on about the same amount of 

 manure, well rotted, and was not troubled 

 by the grub so much. The second year I 

 plowed under the whole patch and gave it 

 another top dressing and planted it to late 

 Cabbage, kept them well worked and clean, 

 and then tried Strawberries again. I 

 never saw better Strawberries, but still 

 there was an occasional plant destroyed, so 

 I did not entirely get rid of them, nor have 

 I ever planted a patch but what I would 

 find an occasional plant taken by these des- 

 tructive pests. But this has convinced me, 

 that on my soil, plenty of manure, and well 

 working the land, will in some way or 

 other, destroy or get rid of the white grub. 

 I have understood from those that have 

 tried it, that hog manure will not answer 

 the purpose as well as other kinds. 



A Handy Garden Implement. 



S. MILLER, MONTGOMERY CO., MO. 



Instead of a rule and line, I use in my 

 garden what we call a marker, a sketch of 

 which I send. It is simply a piece of inch 

 board, two feet long, three inches broad, 

 shaved to a point like a sleigh runner, and 

 having a handle six feet long fastened to it 

 at an angle most convenient to the person 

 that uses it; it should also be rounded on 

 the bottom edge. With this and three 

 stakes I can mark out rows one hundred 

 yards long, so straight that a four poimd 

 cannon ball would clean out a row from 

 one end to the other, a foot from the ground, 

 at a single shot. 



Western New York Horticultural 

 Society 



MEETING HELD IN ROCHESTER, JANUARY 2SD AJJD 24TH. 

 1889, REPORTED BY T. GREINER. 



In his annual address President Barry 

 stated that owing to the failure of the effort's 

 to obtain the desired State aid of «2,.500, the 

 organization of the Society as a State Society 

 has been postponed until fiirther action by 

 the Society. The firm, therefore, is to con- 

 tinue on the old stand, and under the old 

 name, of The Western New York Horti- 

 cultural Society. 



Spraying Fhutt Trees. The suggestions of 

 Pies. Barry are always valuable, and few more so 

 than the one in which he emphasizes the great 

 result* that have been and can be obtained by 

 spraying not only Apple trees but all other fruit 

 trees, with ai-senical poisons. The codling worm 

 and aU leaf eating insects, the Plum curculio 

 among them, can be gotten rid of almost 

 entirely by these means. 



No Fear op Over Production. The prospect 

 of over production of fruits has no terrors for 

 Mr. BaiTy. The outlook was never better, he 

 says, and the consumption of fruits is increasing 

 all over the world. But more regard is now being 

 paid to quality than formerly and the slovenly 

 fruit grower must go. 



A National Loss. The Society has to record 

 the loss of six members by death the past year. 

 Mr. Hiram Sibley, the great seedsman, died in 

 July, at Rochester. Mr. Dillon M. Dewey's death 

 occurred in January, of this year, also at Roch- 

 ester. He was weU known to the nursery trade 

 as the original publisher of colored plates and 

 plate books. The death of Mr. A. J. Caywood, 

 which event occurred recently at Marlboro, N. T., 

 cannot be considered other than a national loss. 

 His energy and skill has given to the fruit-loving 

 public the Dutchess, Ulster and Poughkeepsie 

 Grapes, the Marlboro Raspberry, Minnewaski 

 Blackberry, and some other excellent fruits. 



Election of Officers. The old and well 

 tried staff, P. Barry, of Rochester, president, 

 S. D.WUlard, first ^ice president, P. C. Reynolds, 

 secretary and treasury, were pressed into service 

 again by unanimous vote, and the society seems 

 to prosper nicely under the leadership 

 of these good officers. 



A Noble Gift. Worthy of imitation by other 

 horticulturists of means is the action of the ven- 

 erable president, P. Barry, by which he denotes 

 the sum of $2,000 to the Society. The annual 

 interest of this amount will be of material aid in 

 defraying the expenses of a Society which is 

 denied assistance from the state treasury and the 

 usefulness of which is always hampered and 

 limited by want of funds. 



Worthy New Vegetables. Carried too far is 

 the novelty business, at least in many instances, 

 is what Prof. E. S. Goff of the Experiment Sta- 

 tion thinks of the introduction of vegetable nov- 

 elties by over-enterprising seedsmen. To test all 

 these novelties is a pleasure for those who do not 

 expect too much, for others it is often a disap- 

 pointment. Many of the extravagantly praised 

 new introductions prove only old sorts renamed, 

 or so closely resembling old sorts as to be un- 

 worthy of a new name. 



The Mango Melon (or Melon Peach, as named 

 in some catalogues) is no Melon at all; superior 



A Handy Garden Marker. 



for Mangoes. Of real novelties Mr. Gofif mentions 

 the Celestial Pepper as highly ornamental, pro- 

 lific, and good where a pungent article is wanted. 

 Bears yellow and red fruit at the same time. 

 [The immature fruit is yellowish, with more or 

 less purple, and in ripening turns to bright red; 

 the contrast rendei-s the plant quite attractive.] 

 White Chestnut and Sibley seem to be quite 

 valuable novelties in Squashes. Indeed the Sib- 

 ley may prove to be a serious rival to the old and 

 as yet unsurpassed Hubbard. Of Tomatoes the 

 Dwarf Champion deserves to be mentioned as of 

 great value. No fault is io be found with it 

 except perhaps in color. The claim that it is self 

 supporting, however, was not sustained, but the 

 plant is strong, vigorous, prolific, the fruit hand- 



