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tion of the fruit buds and a large proportion at the same time of wood buds we are accom- 

 plishing two objects. Another is, that we prevent our trees from exhausting themselves 

 in blossoming. We hear so many people say when we are looking over the country in 

 the spring of the year : " We are not likely to have a good crop of fruit this year. 

 We have an abundance of bloom, but the bloom is pale." Why is it pale? The 

 tree is actually exhausting itself in blossoms, and the result is there is no vitality in 

 them or in the tree to induce the flower to properly seed. This accounts for the 

 failure and people can see it in the paleness of the blossoms. The petal of the 

 blossom does not properly develop. Again, the colouring of our fruit comes through 

 the foliage. The flavoui', or that saccharine matter which gives to our fruit its good 

 flavor, comes from the foliage, and by thinning the wood buds, we lessen the quantity 

 of foliage and by this means increase the size, the strength and the health of the 

 foliage. So this is the season of the year to thin out our fruit. We have more time 

 to do it now and it is easier done. I could not see how I could get at my subject 

 without laying the foundation first. Eow, when we get the first quality of fruit we 

 can calculate that we are quite safe and can depend on fancy prices. I will just 

 quote a few of the fancy prices that have been obtained this year for certain 

 varieties of apples in Covent Garden, London. Qualities of Newton Pippins on the 

 same day varied from thirty [shillings to eighty per barrel. Why should there be 

 such a difference ? The one lot evidently was properly selected, properly packed, 

 and arrived in good order. I have seen barrels of apples opened there, and you 

 would see one barrel from which they had neglected to pick out the blemished 

 apples — those not fit for that market. These blemished apples ought i.ot to be 

 sent there at all. Perhaps every apple in the other barrel is perfect. It does 

 not matter so much about the size of the class so much ; consequently we 

 should carefully pick over our apples if we are going to ship them to England 

 and put in nothing but first-class specimens, uniform in size throughout the barrel 

 and as uniform in colour as possible. Under no circumstances should we allow our- 

 selves to be influenced to have poorer apples in the centre of the barrel than the 

 barrel is faced with. So much for selecting our apples. Now, if we go there W'e will 

 see how careful they are — that is, the growers — even in selecting their potatoes 

 for market. The potatoes are never sent to market in England without being rid- 

 dled. They send none but perfect specimens; nothing but comes up to a certain 

 style. All the smaller ones are out. By this means the purchaser has confidence 

 in the potatoes without examining them — confident that they are all going to be like 

 the sample. We want to have our apples all like the sample that appears on open- 

 ing the barrel. If they open one barrel, let that be used for an index of our ship- 

 ment. Now, in preparing the barrels for packing where we are packing in barrels, 

 for foreign shipments, we want to cut the stems off. We must not pull it out. I 

 have in my hand an apple from which the stem has been pulled, and the result is that 

 the apple has begun to decay where the stem was removed. That is invariably the 

 result. In a short time it will spoil. They will lay it to the bruise that always takes 

 place at the end of the barrel, that is caused from pressing the head on. An apple 

 scarcely ever takes injury from the pressing it gets. The injury is caused from 

 pulling out the stem. Now, by taking a pair of scissors and f>.utting off the stem, we 

 prevent the stem from pressing on the apple or cutting the skin, and we also pre- 

 vent it from rotting by the pulling of it out. Then they should be carefully 

 placed in closing the barrel. Allow me here to say, that it pays to line the 

 end of the barrel with paper; and white paper is better than any other. It 

 does not cost much. If we line the end of the barrel with paper, simply 

 getting this light building paper and cutting it out to the proper size of the 

 head of the barrel, and place it in first, they will open up very much pret- 

 tier and the bruises will not show as much as if you had not used the paper at 

 all. When we get this, done, we try for foreign shipment to set our barrel on a large 

 flat stone or plank, so that we can shake it every time we put in a peck or half a 

 bushel of apples in the barrel. It does not get the same jar if it be not on something 

 hard. We continue this shaking until we get the barrel full, and by thoroughly 



