230 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



many cases they were quite rotten. The experiment serves to show that in 

 no case must such packing as paper or wood shavings be omitted in packing 

 apples. Probably the soft thin shreads of wood fibre now made by machinery 

 would serve the purpose admirably, and be in the end better and more dur- 

 able than paper. They have, moreover, the advantage of being readily and 

 cheaply made from many of the woods in which the Colonies abound. It 

 remains, of course, to be seen whether other kinds of fruit — such as grapes — 

 could be packed in the same way. There is no doubt that fairly good quality, 

 placed in large quantities on the London market early in spring or summer 

 would command a sale, unless the prices were prohibitive. Just now, at 

 the end of May, the London fruiters' shops are redolent with the delicately 

 tinted Tasmanian apples. These attract, but the consumption is confined, 

 by reason of the prices, to the wealthy few. The vast multitude of buyers 

 is not yet touched. 



FALL vs. SPRING PLANTING. 



r~JROM the purchasers' standpoint, does it pay to buy fruit trees in the 

 n, fall ? Are there any advantages gained by purchasing in the fall 

 equivalent to the disadvantage of laying out of your money for six 

 months for an article that cannot be made any use of till the spring ? If 

 there are none that can be shown, that of itself is a sufficient objection to 

 fall purchasing. Then, what are the advantages claimed and set forth by 

 the advocates of fall purchasing ? First, if the purchaser be a farmer, as is 

 the case in the majority of instances, he is told that by securing his trees 

 in the fall he will have them on hand in the spring soon as the season 

 opens and can get them planted and out of the wa)' before his other work 

 demands his attention, and that by an early planting they will get the full 

 benefit of the spring rains to give them a fine setting, and as a result an 

 early start. On the other hand, if he does not get them set out early he is 

 told he can leave them lying in their winter bed till the season is well 

 advanced, and they will then lose no time, as they will have started to grow 

 and, the weather being warm, will rush right ahead soon as planted out 

 Both of these arguments are fallacious and deceptive, as I think can be shown 

 alike from the standpoint of common sense and from actual experience. 



In the autumn season nature prepares the tree for the approaching winter. 

 First evaporation is suspended, then the flow of sap from the roots ceases, 

 the leaves separate and fall off, the bark contracts and tightens about the 

 tree, the pores of the outer covering close up and the tree is ready to resist 

 the penetrating cold blasts of the winter season. If the tree be dug up for 

 fall delivery the process of preparation is very different to this. The leaves 

 are stripped off by the nurseryman before evaporation has ceased, or any 



