272 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



Five hundred bushels are not a large yield per acre. This number was put 

 down as the average yield of 1865, while many record that much on half an acre. 

 The Bermuda islands and Spain send many onions to this country early in the 

 season. 



Marketi-.ig the crop is expensive, as they must bu sold mostly in the large 

 cities. The cost of raising depends upon circumstances, so I will name some of 

 the items. The interest on the land, hauling, spading, plowing, and hoeing in 

 the fall, applying 20 loads of manure to the acre, a thorough cultivation in the 

 spring, carefully raking off the rough soil and raking in 100 bushels of ashes to 

 the acre, and as much else as you can afford to buy ; these are the chief items. 

 The seed is often high and should be sown with much care. The weeding and 

 hoeing should be done six or eight times, which means crawling that number of 

 times over an acre, with rows about twelve inches apart. 



HOW TO PACK AND MARKET AEGETABLES. 



g,^^ NE of the most difificult things to get a beginner in packing fruits and 

 vegetables to understand is the necessity for filling packages tightly, 

 so as to prevent jostling in transit. . . Another matter which 



has been insisted upon for many years in all the farm papers, is the 

 necessity for honest packing of fruit and vegetables. Growers seem 

 to suppose that city buyers and dealers look only at the big speci- 

 mens put on top, when, in fact, the only one deceived in the trans, 

 action is the shipper, who always loses in cash and reputation. . . . 



Growers are fast coming to the conclusion that it pays best to ship veget- 

 ables in crates of moderate size that can be easily handled. Even the crop of 

 early potatoes, still largely shipped in barrels, will pay better sent in crates, and 

 growers who have tested the matter are using crates for this crop. Plenty of 

 city consumers will buy a whole crate who cannot handle a barrel of potatoes, 

 and potatoes in crates go off at better prices. . . . 



Our vegetables are sent to the exacting Boston market either in bushel or 

 barrel-boxes. The bushel-boxes are nine inches deep, and scjuare 19x19 

 inches. The barrel-boxes are 38 x 18 inches in length and width, and 10)^ 

 inches deep. By considering the number of bunches or individual varieties 

 contained in the standard boxes, the buyer knows whether the size of the 

 bunches is right for his retail trade. Overgrown monstrosities and uneven 

 grading find little favor with dealers. . , . 



Asparagus is done up in bunches of one pound each, and exposed for sale 

 in bushel-boxes. The less white found in a bunch, and the larger the individual 

 sprouts, the better is the price obtained for them. Many fmd it profitable to 

 make two sorts of bunches, putting the smaller and whiter stalks in separate 

 bundles, thereby obtaining enough more for the best to return a better price for 

 the gross lot. 



