39 



PACKING. 



Handle apples a.s carefully as you would eggs. Do not 

 shake them from the tree. In packing out of doors, as 

 many do, when a basket is handed down, another is returned, 

 while the apples in the first are sorted. The sorting is easily 

 done by having an empty basket at hand, into which the 

 choicest apples are placed, while the culls are placed in a 

 pile on the ground. An experienced man can sort rapidly 

 and accurately. The choice apples are commonly placed 

 directlj' in the barrel. Two or three times during the 

 filling the barrel should be shaken gently to settle the 

 apples firmly. It is not desirable to head up the barrel at 

 once Cover with boards for four or five days. But the 

 best results in packing are always secured under cover. A 

 cheap shed, which will not leak, is sufiicient. 



Great pains must be taken in sorting. Few people are 

 aware what constitutes a first class apple. Such an apple 

 must not be immature, overripe, wormy, or otherwise injured 

 in any part, scabby or bruised. The quality should be 

 uniform from top to bottom. It is the poorest of poor- 

 policy to put the best apples on the top of the barrel, and 

 poorer ones below. Only the reliable, honest packer can. 

 always be sure of a ready market and good prices for 

 his fruit. 



Varieties that will not keep long should be sold in the 

 nearest market, as they cannot be shipped without great 

 risk ; but hard apples may be shipped long distances with- 

 out injury. Apples can now be sent from almost any part 

 of Nova Scotia to England at an average rate of one dollar 

 per barrel. Only the very best should be sent ; all small, 

 imperfect, or bruised specimens should be rejected. 



PLUM CULTURE. 



Plums can be grown successfully in all parts of the 

 province, except, perhaps, on the mountain tops, where they 

 are subject to undue exposure, and their bloom destroyed by 

 spring frosts. In no part, however, can they be grown 

 more successfully than in the eastern counties of the pro- 

 vince, including the Island of Cape Breton. Last season 

 1 saw fine crops of plums growing along the shores of 

 Northumberland Strait. The trees were thrifty and pp''- 

 fectly free from Black Knot. One farmer alone raises 

 about 50 bushels of this delicious fruit annually. There 

 are great possibilities before us in the cultivation of the 

 plum. It is gratifying to notice that the local press of 



