1889. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



211 



that his unbrandcd fruit has often sold for as 

 much as his competitor's bi-anded fruit, and liis 

 No. 1 for much more. 



The commission merchant, being the same in 

 both cases, explained b.v sa.ving: "Jones' fruit 

 wo\ild sell at any time, no matter what the con- 

 dition of the market." Mr. Jones is well satis- 

 fled with his course so far and has a clear con- 

 science. The purchasei-s .'teem to be satisfied, as 

 they cheerfully pay the extra price asked, and 

 come back for more fruit. 



I And the eagerness to be early in the market 

 e-xists here in Florida too; for our New York 

 market was more than supjilied early in the 

 winter with unripe Florida Oranges, which, the 

 merchants told me, were not wanted. 



A year or so ago one of your Orange growers 

 visited his commission merchant in New York, 

 and wanted him to explain, if he could, how it 

 was that his Oranges did not sell for as much as 

 his neighbor. Brown's. " Well," said the mer- 

 chant, "Mr. Brown has always been very par- 

 ticular in grading his fruit and putting it up. 

 His No. 1 fruit is what it jiurports to be in size, 

 quality and appearance. He has succeeded in 

 establishing for it a reputation which deale:-s 

 have learned to appreciate. I once had an order 

 for twenty boxes Brown's brand to send out of 

 town. Having none on hand T filled the order 

 with ani}ther brand which I thought equally 

 good and so advised my customer, but the whole 

 lot was returned to me. 



"Again, you ship me, say, forty boxes. My 

 customer examines three or four boxes and finds 

 two or three Oranges in each box of second 

 quality. He estimates the whole lot, makes bis 

 offer accordinglj\ Sometimes in order to get 

 what I really think they are woi-th, I have to 

 sort and repack the whole lot. In doing so I will 

 probably get five or more boxes of second grade. 

 These, of course, I have to sell for less money, 

 which reduces the average. Thus, you see, T 

 must be able to convince my customers that 

 your fruit is in all respects as good as Mr. 

 Brown's before I can sell it to them at the same 

 figures. When you put it ui> and grade it so I 

 can do so, I can and will return you as good 

 prices as I do Mr. Brown." 



The cost of the box, labor of packing and 

 transportation, is the same in both cases. Every 

 box of No. ii fruit reduces the general average of 

 the whole; and appearance, quality and uniform 

 size are all important passports to profit. 



How to Grow Tomatoes. 



I Extract of paper read by E, P. Kirby, before the 

 Boston Market Gardeners' Association. 1 



The seed is sown the first week in March 

 on strong heat; three weeks later the plants 

 are pricked out,about two hundred per sash, 

 on good heat; before they get to crowding 

 they are again pricked out, about fifty per 

 sash. A mild heat is advisable, for the 

 plant must be kept growing; they should be 

 set in the open field about the '2.5111 of May. 



The extreme point of earliness in ripening was 

 reached years ago, and now further improve- 

 ments must be in size, smoothness and solidity. 

 The Tomato requires a certain degree of high 

 temperature, and the whole (luestion of earliness 

 hinges on the treatment of the plant in the hot 

 house, and the character of the soil. 



This is one of the few plants that will pay bet- 

 ter on a moderately poor soil. Keep away much 

 fertilizer that makes leaves and late fruit, but 

 use instead some form of alkali— potash, for 

 instance— which acting upon the vegetable mat- 

 ter in the soil, will generate ammonia enough to 

 form as much foUage as is necessary. Sulphate 

 of potash is most advantageous. The presence 

 of potash in a sulphate form facilitates its ripen- 

 ing by favoring the transformation of the starch 

 to gi'ape sugar. Depriving the plants of a part 

 of their roots or tohage causes them to concen- 

 trate their vitahty into ripening their fruit 

 and make it earlier. 



For experiment I trained two shoots to a pole, 

 pinching all laterals at the first leaf. This in- 

 duces blossoms and fruit at the joints of the 

 laterals and main stem. They covered the pole 

 to a distance of six feet, and the qualitj' of the 

 fruit was very superior. From the twenty 

 plants thus treated I picked, July 10, three pecks 

 of fine, ripe, good-sized fruit. 



In another experiment I girdled the main stem 

 by making a V-shaped cut. The fruit ripened 

 within a few days and my pickings were largely 

 increased. This is in accordance with the ])rin- 



cipal by which flowering plants in pots com- 

 pletely flllcd with roots give more profuse bloom. 



Pickuig Tomatoes when partially ripe secures 

 more perfect fruit ripened all over and escaping 

 the dilBculty of cracking. I )f the many excellent 

 varieties, each of which have their advocates, 

 the Emory, for me, fills the bill for an all-.season's 

 variety. It is smooth and of good color, lipen- 

 ingeven without crackingand not liable to blight. 



I have for several yeai's had a limited call late 

 in the season for the Yellow Plum Tomato, for 

 preserves. The vines are of ^■igorous growth, 

 but higher prices are obtained for the fruit in 

 September than earlier. The seed should not be 

 sown earlier than the first week in April. 



Western New york Horticultural 

 Society. 



{Continued from page 142.) 



The Evaporating Industry. This subject 

 was treated by Mr. Doyle of Rochester. The 

 Apple is a specific American production, and no 

 country in the world can compete with us in the 

 production of cheap evaporated Apples. Each 

 100 pounds of Apples yield about i) pounds of 

 evaporated product. Western New York Peaches 

 are superior to Peaches grown elsewhere, and 

 the evaporated product readil.y brings from three 

 to five 'cents per pound more. It was born in 

 Western New York. At present there are from 

 1,.500 to 3,000 evaporatoi-s of various sizes and 

 makes in successful operation within a radius of 

 40 miles from Rochester. 



iMPiiovEMENT OF KuHAi. HOMES Utility be- 

 fore beauty is good enough for a new country, 

 but not for us, says Mr. Wm. Webster. Our 

 present farm implements compared with the old 

 clumsy tools of our fathers, are beautiful, and 

 moreover more effective. A nice lawn is the 

 thing to imjjrove the aspect of a modern home. 

 How to make it? Cover the whole surface of 

 ground with a heavy coat of manure and harrow 

 it in; then apply another coat of good compost 

 and again harrow in. Next plant what trees and 

 shrubs you want. Choose the best, as the cost is 

 nothing compared with the satisfaction and 

 pleasure. Then sow the seed— Kentucky Blue 

 Grass and White Clover, at the rate of four 

 bushels of the former to one bushel of the latter 

 per acre. .Sow each kind by itself. The (^lover 

 seed need not be covered. Clean up the old rub- 

 bish and keep the premises in trim. Unsightly 

 objects should be hidden by a high board fence 

 and Evergreens. Do not plant too many trees 

 and too few shrubs. Carpet bedding is not to be 

 recommended for the farmer, as it is expensive, 

 and hardly ever satisfactory without constant 

 care. Use good hardy perennials and keep the 

 lawn mower going. 



W. C. Barry says a few dollars spent annually 

 in benefiting the premises will pay a big interest. 

 An inconsiderable expense for flowering shrubs, 

 a little care every year, what a grand result it 

 will present in the course of 10 or 1.5 years. 



Chemistry and AORicnLTURE. Prof. Cald- 

 well of the Cornell University explains that the 

 soil holds potash and phosphoric acid, but is apt 

 to let nitrogen when in the form of nitrates, es- 

 cape (leach out) unless immediately utilized for 

 plant growth. Potash and phosphoric acid do 

 not seem to be very soluble when held by the 

 soil, as it takes 100 gallons of water to wash out 

 what was first dissolved in one gallon. Yet the 

 plants can take it up, as they appear to have the 

 power, to some extent, to make their own solu- 

 tions. Water distributes the plant fofid all 

 through the soil, no matter whether the manure 

 was ploughed in or left on the surface. The ni- 

 trate form of nitrogen is best suited for absorp- 

 tion by the plants; but as all soils experimented 

 with as yet let almost all of their nitrates go clear 

 through to the drains, it follows that such nitrates 

 should be put upon the soil only when a crop is 

 there to take hold of and put them to immediate 

 good use. Nitrates are undoubtedly the cheapest 

 form in which we can apply nitrogen, but they 

 should be used by themselves. Nitrates are not 

 used much by fertilizer manufacturers, but a 

 dollar expended for them goes farther than when 

 expended in any other form of nitrogen. Use 

 nitrates carefully in repeated but light applica- 

 tions. It is not volatile, and rapidly growing 

 crops take it up very fast Stable manure owes 

 its value more to nitrogen compounds than to 

 any other element of plant food. Nitrogen in 

 stable manure is tending to be transformed into 

 nitrates by natural agencies in the soil; sulphate 

 of ammonia also givesnitrates by natural conver- 

 sionand these nitratesare hable to escape through 



the soil. This shows that the fanner can put all 

 the pota.sh and phosphoric acid upon his soil that 

 he desires. It will stay there until used by plants. 

 It is ditferent with nitrogen in whatever form 

 used. The more the soil is tilled and airatlmitted, 

 the more nipid is the conversitm of nitrogen into 

 nitrates, and the more rapidly the crops will 

 grow, or if the ground is bare the faster the 

 nitrate's will make their escape. Keep the groinid 

 covered with useful crops, even in late fall, to 

 catch the nitrates. The continued cropping of 

 the market gardener is a most excellent method 

 of preventing useless waste of nitrogen. During 

 the cold season there is very little formation of 

 nitrate in the soil. Hence barnyard manure may 

 be put on the land in winter without fear of loss. 



Sulphate of Am.monia. In the application 

 of sulphate of ammonia there is less danger of 

 loss than with nitrates, as it undergoes nitrifica- 

 ti(m very gradually. Nitrate of soda, however, 

 is undoubtedly the cheapest source of nitrogen, 

 but must be applied in .small and repeated rations, 

 not faster than the crop can utilize it. 



Manures for the Orchard or Garden. Mr. 

 Joseph Harris also speaks very emphatically in 

 favor of more liberal use of nitrates, especially 

 of nitrate of soda. It gives big results on .Sugar 

 Beets, Mangel Wurtzels, etc. An application of 

 $1.5 worth gave an increase of over .')00 bushels 

 (at a cost of three cents per bushel). It also gave 

 a large increase of sugar in Beets, and it may be 

 inferred that such manuring will make the pro- 

 duction of Sugar Beets for sugar profitable. Mr. 

 Harris says that our orchards also need more 

 nitrate. All other plant foods can be got easily 

 and cheaply. The practice of double cropping 

 the orchard is not profitable. If you want Apples 

 do not put the land in field crops, grass or weeds. 

 Give the tree all the nitrogen there is in the soil. 

 Has fed his orchards with 300 pounds of nitrate 

 of soda per acre with best results, indeed he has 

 seldom been better paid for any application, and 

 wants no grass in orchard. 



A COMPOST Heap. There need be no loss in a 

 well-made compost heap, even if left out doors 

 says Mr. Harris. Once he had 75 sheep killed or 

 badly wounded by dogs. A compost heap was 

 made right in the open field, with alternating 

 layers of manure and cut up carcasses, and some 

 soil on top. This was left a year. All flesh had 

 then disappeared, and only a few soft bones were 

 left. This compost was spread very thinly on 

 wheat, and gave excellent results. But a few 

 hundred pounds of nitrate of soda would prob- 

 ably have given just as good results, at much 

 less cost. Early crops need nitrate before the 

 natural nitrification in the soil sets in, therefore 

 all market gardeners should use it. 



Roses for Winter Forcino. Start young 

 plants about August 1st in clean loam, give 

 plenty of air. Keep off all flower buds until 

 October, then mulch with manure. Mildew can 

 be fought with tiowers of sulphur, the green 

 aphis by fumigating with Tobacco. 



Cultivating Orchards. Expert orchardists 

 seem to be in favor of plowing orchards every 

 year, and giving shallow cultivation rather than 

 allowing them to be in grass. Many varieties of 

 Apples might be made annual bearers by plowing 

 and cultivation. 



New Fruits. Prunus Simonl is better for can- 

 ning than for table. Much could not be said in 

 favor of Russian Apricots and Russian Mulber- 

 ries- Stanton Plum and Smith's Prune were 

 geneially pronounced fine fruits. Moore's Ruby 

 Currant, prolific and one of the best for table. 

 P'ay's Currant is a general favorite, being a strong 

 grower and giving fine clusters. Prince Albert 

 Currant, sour and dry. Moyer Grape recom- 

 mended for testing. Eaton Grape ripens with 

 Concord; not yet much fruited. Moore's Diamond 

 worthy of trial. Vergennes a long keeper. 



Newer Strawberries. Bubach is a good 

 fruit, perhaps better than any other new variety. 

 Fruit large and showy, one of the best for home 

 market. Jessie has done well. Belmont is quite 

 good. Wilson yet unsurpassed as a shipper and 

 for uniform size. 



Small Fruit Culture by a high 

 Authority. 



[Abstract of paper read by Mr.J.H. Hale of South 

 Glastonbury, Conn., before the Tfinter meeting of the 

 N. Y. State Agricultural Society.] 



The requisites of success are: 



1. A love of fruits for their own sake, and 

 pleasure in their culture. 



2. A soil fairly adapted. 



3. Markets within easy reach. 



