208 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Edition. 



A Beurre D'Amanlis pear tree, in ttie orchard o£ 



Mr. Palmer, Victoria, B.C., laden with fruit. The 



weight of the crop injured the tree. 



the tendency to wedge the lower layers 

 causes undue pressure and injury. Fur- 

 ther, the tapering packages allow oi 

 motion. In the square, rigid package, 

 the individual fruits can be so packed 

 that none of them alter position in any 

 respect ; this package makes firm pack- 

 ing possible. In long-distance shipping 

 it is one essential that the fruit should 

 not move from its original position in 

 relation to the other fruits in the 

 package. 



The only package used in the west to 

 any extent which contains the taper- 

 ing side is the tin-top basket used in 

 the four-basket plum crate. Even in 

 this package there is practically no 

 settling or movement of the fruit be- 

 cause of the firm packing employed. It 

 will be noted further that the sides of 

 this veneered tin-top are protected by 

 the outer package, as is not the case 

 with the "Climax" basket. 



A further essential of packing for 

 long-distance shipping is, of course, 

 the wrapping. The use of paper for 

 apples, peaches, pears, plums, and apri- 

 cots in the west is so well known as to 

 need no further comment. Aside from 

 the improvement in appearance, the 

 paper improves greatly the shipping 

 quality. 



The shipping of soft fruits for long- 

 distance involves prompt cooling and 

 quick refrigerator service. The general 

 adoption of pre-cooling in the west, 

 and the provision of the modern re- 

 frigerator car system and rapid mov- 



ing on schedule, have all gone hand in 

 hand together with the recent great 

 interest in the volume of shipments 

 moving. The Government pre-cooling 

 plant at Summerland, B.C., for in- 

 .stance, is handling up to two carloads 

 a day of soft fruits, which takes care 

 of the great bulk of the freight ship- 

 ments from the Lower Okanagan Val- 

 ley. A similar pre-cooling plant at 

 Okanagan Landing, on a larger scale, 

 is under consideration for next year. 



Quick transportation has much the 

 same effect as lessening the distance. 

 The Okanagan Valley shipped a con- 

 siderable number of straight carloads 

 of cherries by freight under ice this 

 year, travelling as far as Winnipeg. 



A Strawberry Root Disease 



Dr. J. B. Dandcno, O.A.C., Guelph, Ont. 



A plant disease of a serious nature iii 

 parts of New Brunswick is what is 

 called "black root" of strawberry. It 

 is so serious in some parts of the pro- 

 vince that it has put out of business 

 several strawberry growers. The dis- 

 ease affects the roots, causing a black- 

 ening and decay. The plant becomes 

 sickly and dries up soon after the trou- 

 ble begins. Plants may be attacked 

 even when in fruit. When this hap- 

 pens the fruit becomes soft and dark- 

 colored and utterly unfit for use. It is 

 caused by a fungus or bacteria, the life 

 history of which has not yet been 

 worked out. The disease appeared also 

 in Bowmanville, Ont., this year. 



The remedy is to secure plants from 

 a clean source and plant on land which 

 has previously been thoroughly culti- 

 vated and on which strawberries have 

 not recently been grown. Barnyard 

 manure seems to be favorable to the 

 disease; therefore, if fertilizer be ne- 

 cessary, it would seem wise to use com- 

 mercial fertilizer. It might be a wise 

 precaution to dip the roots of plants, 

 previous to planting, in dilute forma- 

 lin solution for a few minutes — forma- 

 lin about one per cent., and for about 

 five minutes. 



A Wealthy apple tree in full fruit, and its 



owner, P. N. Borden, a prosperous Victoria, 



B.C. fruit grower. 



The quality of the shipments, as a 

 whole, was much superior on arrival 

 to that of L.C.L. express shipments : 

 the service was nearly as quick as ex- 

 press. Every day a special freight 

 train, known as the "Fruit Special," 

 leaves Okanagan Landing for the 

 Prairies, making the run through the 

 mountains in twenty-eight hours. This 

 quick movement enables the grower to 

 get all the benefit to which he is en- 

 titled for his extreme care in the selec- 

 tion, picking, grading, packing, and 

 handling of the fruit. 



One of the best ways to control in- chinamen are a chief source of labor in British 

 sects on strawberries is by rotation of Columbia orchards, one is here shown picking 

 nnnmi ^^A .,l«„^ „.,if «*;„•> Belle 'd Boskoop apples in Mr. Palmer's orchard 



crops and clean cultivation. at victoria, b.c. 



