1 66 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



July, 



Notes from a Rochester Fruit Farm. 



CHARLES A. GREEN, ROCHESTER, N. V. 



Variable Weather. It is difficult to suit 

 people on the question of weather. It is too 

 hot or too cold, too wet or too dry, but we must 

 learn to make the most of such as we get. 

 Excessively wet seasons are not so favorable to 

 plant growth as moderately dry seasons, where 

 proper cultivation has been given. An objec- 

 tion to wet seasons is the delays it causes. As 

 the hoes and cultivators and the storms cannot 

 prevail at the same time, the weeds get a start 

 and maintain it unless a hard fight ensues. 



"How horribly dry; everything is suffer- 

 ing," is a complaint we often hear. Of course 

 things will suffer unless you fight the drought. 

 The soil is not so fearfully dry as you suppose. 

 Dig into frequently stirred soil and see how 

 moist. But the uncultivated is parched. Keep 

 the cultivators running at least twice a week, 

 or every other day if necessity requires. We 

 have layered Gooseberries, cuttings and young 

 stocks of various kinds, that would perish if 

 left uncared for while waiting for rain. We 

 work the soil freely between the rows, then 

 shovel plow, throwing a mulch of fine earth 

 about the plants. Then we cultivate again 

 several times in the path of the shovel plow. 

 The result is firm soil about the roots and 

 several inches of loose soil over them on all sides. 



Pniit blossoms are more perfectly fertilized 

 in dry weather than wet. Drenching rains 

 coming at the date of blossoming often ruin 

 our crops of Pears, and injure the Apple crop 

 and many other fruits. Then the bees cannot 

 work, often for four or five days, at the critical 

 period; hence, this method of scattering pollen, 

 and the effect of the pollen carried by the dry 

 winds are less in wet weather. 



Puddling Trees. We have never so fully 

 realized the benefits of this as the present season. 

 We had thousands of trees and vines to trans- 

 plant that had begun to leaf out. We dug a 

 deep hole and made a thick mixture therein of 

 clay and water, thick as cream. The roots of 

 trees, etc., were dipped therein without a 

 moment's exposure and planted immediately. 

 The fine earth clung to the muddy roots, and 

 though the soil was rather dry when planted, 

 and no rain for two weeks since, the leaves are 

 fresh, and the planting a success. Without 

 this puddling it would have been a failure. 



Grape-vines bear transplanting thus after the 

 leaves appear with remarkable success, continu- 

 ing growth as though undisturbed. At such a 

 time young roots have formed often two inches 

 long. These would perish with the slightest 

 exposure, but when puddled and planted with 

 care not one in WOU should die. 



I have seen large trees transplanted after 

 appearing in full leaf, by cutting back the tops 

 to a point where the buds have not started. 

 On nearly all trees there are numerous buds on 

 the branches near their base that do not start 

 growth unless the branches are cut back, or 

 some accident happens. Buds also push out 

 often where none could be discovered. 



Do NOT Hoe Deep. Daily we go out among 

 the men hoeing newly plauted Strawberries and 

 Raspberries, and order them not to hoe deep, 

 and yet they continue from habit to hoe as 

 though working among Corn and Potatoes, 

 which root much deeper, and which also are 

 hoed so deep as to injure them. Bat the roots 

 of newly planted tip Raspberries and Straw- 

 berries are often bm'ied but two or three 

 inches, and an ordinary deep hoeing does them 

 more injury than good. Then in removing 

 blossoms from newly set Strawberries the men 

 will pull them off in place of cutting with the 

 thumb nail, and in this way the young plants 

 are often uprooted. It is difficult to get men 

 to hoe properly. If they obey in not hoeing 

 too deep they do not hoe deep enough, and let 

 the weeds get a start. 



Perils of Transplanting. Some one has 

 said that not half the plants and trees sold live 

 to bear fruit, owing to careless planting. Con- 



siderable experience is required, especially with 

 Strawberries and tip Raspberries. If planted 

 too deep they perish ; if too shallow they perish. 

 It exposed to the sun and wind five minutes 

 they perish. If the soil is not well plowed or 

 if very dry and not made fine at planting, or 

 not well cultivated and hoed immediately after, 

 they perish. Then if they live the White Grub 

 often eats the tender plants. The great source 

 of loss is in getting such plants late. They 

 cannot be shipped safely after warm weather 

 comes, nor planted safely then as a rule. Com- 

 plaints are mostly from late shipped plants, 

 while those sent early had cool weather in 

 transit and moist soil at planting. 



The American Pomological Society. This 

 grand old society holds its next annual meeting 

 at Boston, with Patrick Barry and Chas. W. 

 Garfield at the helm, as good men as our 

 country can produce. This society has done 

 more for pomology than millions of dollars 

 could have done it voted by Congress. It is an 

 honor to become a member, and a privilege 

 that no one can afford to ignore. Does it pay 

 to drop work and attend such meetings I Yes. 

 I have never taken a trip of this kind without 

 making money — not directly, but in such a way 

 that in future years I fouud it profitable. Men 

 should enlist in movements of interest to their 

 specialties. If they do not it indicates a lack 

 of appreciation, and of interest that marks the 

 individual as sleepy and half alive. 



"Yes," you say, " but men go there to puff 

 their specialties or to make money one way or 

 another." WiU you go there with that object 

 and try it ? If you make yourself conspicuous 

 as a puflier you will soon get frozen out. As 

 far as money making is concerned that is 

 laudable. If you are making money anywhere 

 it is presumptive evidence that you are of some 

 practical use to your fellows. It is no slur to 

 say that your neighbor is going somewhere to 

 make money. We are all money makers, and 

 if by showing our fruits and telling our experi- 

 ence and listening to the experience of othei-s 

 we can make more money, and we all can, 

 this should induce us the more to go. But 

 these excursions benefit us in many ways. We 

 get breadth of views, increased knowledge, 

 a little of polish of manner, and the rough 

 corners of our conceit get rubbed off. 



A Practical Talk on Evaporating 

 Fruit. 



.lEWETT BENEDICT, DUNDEE, N. Y. 



The business of evaporating fruit has come 

 to stay. When, therefore, one is about to em- 

 bark in it he should do so intelligently. A first 

 thing is to find among the many evaporators 

 one you will be pleased with; don't take any 

 man's word as to this. You have got to run it. 



Some talk of erecting a valuable building for 

 the business, others want none at all ; both are 

 wrong. Without a building, accommodations 

 for preparing, handling and packing the fruit 

 are lacking. With a valuable building in case 

 of a flre your loss will be heavy, as no insurance 

 company will take risks on an evaporator. So 

 I say from experience, get up a handy building, 

 put in an evaporator that will do good work, 

 enough of it, and that will be economical both 

 in fuel and help. 



Avoid any fruit evaporator with return flue. 

 Such do not act in accordance with the laws of 

 pneumatics, and need close attention or the 

 fruit will be spoiled. I have found the upright 

 shaft more economical and convenient. It 

 should be remembered that fruit, while fresh, 

 will endure a high degree of heat without 

 scalding or discoloration. 



Two things are necessary in an evaporator: 

 heat and ventilation. An evaporator that is 

 poorly ventilated will dry the fruit slow; with 

 less heat and more cold air the product will be 

 better and a greater (.[uantity in a given time. 



Never allow fruit to remain in the drier 

 until it rattles on the trays, better throw it off 

 quite moist and allow it to finish up on the 



curing floor. In berries, especially, if you wish 

 a flne product empty off while quite moist, and 

 the shape and size will be retained. Such will 

 hardly show they have been dried. 



In fitting for market, the practical man has 

 learned he must put it out in the best possible 

 condition for obtaining the best price. See 

 that youi' fruit is clean, the berries bright, the 

 Apples, etc., even in color. No man will at- 

 tempt to put upon the market berries that have 

 grown upon j^oung or low bushes without first 

 fanning and dipping them; this will remove 

 the sand and improve the color. 



Some wonder at the range of prices quoted 

 by commission men. Difference in quality 

 accounts for this. If the evaporating were 

 rightly done but tew grades would be quoted 

 in the market. The evaporating business is 

 fast becoming a science; any man who embarks 

 in it thinking he knows it all at the start had 

 better not attempt to compete with those long 

 in the business. I have found that there are 

 A B C's to be learned in the business; they can 

 be summed up in a few words: be careful, be 

 clean, be honest, and with experience you will 

 succeed. As for packages, a bright, shapely 

 package is best for any goods. 



Troubles of the Hudson River Grow- 

 ers. Some Remedies In View. 



A. J. CAVWUOD, MARLBORO, N. Y. 



Between twenty five and thirty years ago, 

 when a small quantity of fruit was marketed 

 from this valley, it was carried to New York 

 on reasonable terms, but during the last ten 

 years while the carrying of fruit has become 

 the chief business of many of the heavy and 

 small steamers on the Hudson, and while fruit 

 is one-half lower in price the freight charges 

 have been increased. In addition to this the 

 commission men, unlike formerly, now charge 

 cartage from the boats to their houses. 



To compel the people to accept their terms 

 the transportation companies have leased or 

 bought the wharfs in front of aU the fruit sec- 

 tions. In certain cases docks were bought by 

 the growers, when the companies quickly made 

 terms with such at lower rates. Fifteen miles 

 neai'er New York where the companies held 

 the docks they charged from $1 to $3 per ton 

 more for Grapes ; other fruits in proportion. 



There being no proper arrangement on these 

 boats for the safe storing of fruit. Peach bask- 

 ets are turned up, set down on each other 7 or 

 8 feet high. Grape and berry crates dropped 

 from 4 to inches from the hands of the car- 

 riers and thrown above their heads on the piles. 



At the other end of the route, in New York, 

 they fare but little better. The cartmen whom 

 the commission men employ hire the worst class 

 of boys on the street to carry the packages from 

 the boats to their carts at one cent each, and 

 they are frequently thrown on end from their 

 shoulders. The strife for each to carry the 

 greatest number makes the scene a pande- 

 monium, frequently not an officer being in 

 sight, the boat being Uterally surrendered dur- 

 ing the unloading to these parties. They often 

 run over a lot of baskets filled with Peaches to 

 obtain the mark they seek. The fruit having 

 thus arrived at the stores in a more or less 

 damaged state, and no change having been 

 made in these proceedings after many years of 

 complaint, the growers are now making an 

 effort to correct some of these abuses. 



A meeting of the leading fruit growers met 

 in the early part of April, and after delibera- 

 tion appointed a committee to see the transpor- 

 tation companies, and also the commission men 

 of New York City and other markets. They 

 were cordially met by the boat companies, and 

 promises were made that the charges and the 

 rough handling of fruit would be taken into 

 consideration and equitably arranged. 



The growers have asked the commission men 

 to pay cartage on gift packages frDm the boats 

 to their houses, inasmuch as they have now for 

 the first time refused to retm"n any of them, 



