640 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



July, 1913 



The Importance of Colour 

 in Fruit and Vegetables. 



It is not alone for aesthetic 

 reasons, that we should take into 

 consideration the question of 

 colour, when planting fruit trees or 

 vegetables, but often for purely 

 practical and commercial reasons 

 for the colour of fruits and veget- 

 ables has a value recognized in 

 commerce and the household, says 

 a writer in the Wisconsin Horti- 

 culture. There are certain stand- 

 ards and ideals of colour' to which 

 fruits must conform more or less 

 closely to be assured of popularity, 

 and this is equally true of veget- 

 ables. A beet that is blood red 

 throughout will meet this ideal 

 standard better than the red, 

 white or yellow flesh varieties. A 

 white sweet corn is most desired 

 but a yellow mav be tolerated 

 if distinctly tender and succulent. 

 Yellow fleshed rutabagas seem to 

 be the pojuilar kind and yet the 

 white is quite preferable for table 

 use. Yellow fleshed potatoes are 

 hardlv tolerable and red skinned 

 ones are not so popular except for 

 early markets in the city. There 

 is no distinct reason why speckled 

 or dark beans should not be as 

 marketable as any except that fa- 

 shion says their colour should be 

 white, bnions may be lirilliantly 

 white, red or yellow and yet be 

 indifferentlv accepted by the cook. 

 Perhaps this discriminate choice 

 arises from the fact that sh© tear- 

 fully removes the colorful coating 

 that covers the odorous bulb that 

 is alwavs white within. In fruits, 



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too, we have some color vagaries 

 that arise to even greater import- 

 ance in the field of commerce and 

 culinary art. Our first fruit of the 

 season, the luscious strawberry, 

 comes to us unifomrly clad in red 

 and we like it best if the red is 

 full, deep and glossy and the flesh 

 itself blood red to the core. The 

 deep red flesh gives the best color 

 when canned and a much more in- 

 vit ig look than the white fleshed 

 soics. The bright red or black 

 of the chem- seems to fully satis- 

 fy for color. The ideal raspberry 

 is bright red or coal black. Dull 

 colors do not seem to meet 

 our ideas as well, even when 

 quite acceptable in quality and 

 size. In currants the red are de- 

 cidedly more marketableUhan white 

 varieties while gooseberries go to 

 the market almost as green as 

 grass. In blackberries, no light 

 colored sort has been profitably 

 grown and we accept their black- 

 ness as just the right thing. In 

 grapes we have manv colors, white,, 

 yellow, red, pink,, purple. and black. 

 If the quality is distinctH' good 

 none of these colors are barred 

 from public favor. 



The most important color for 

 apples is red. If ' upon a clear, 

 light groimd, a fliush will do ; but 

 if suffused in bright carmine, over 

 an ivor\- white, it becomes irresist- 

 ably lovely in the market. Whik 

 green colored apples are sold in 

 large quantities it is undeniable 

 that all parties concerned would 

 be better pleased if the fruit were 

 full colored red. There is, how- 

 ever, a finish of glos.sing and color- 

 ing of well grown and well ma- 

 tured fruit that will make it very 

 attractive when secured ' in the 

 largest possible diegree. To secure 

 this brilliancy of finish that sihould 

 be present when harvest comes,, is 

 a part of the art of the; fruit 

 grower. Trees overloaded with 

 fruit, those suffering from insect 

 or fungus depredations, those un- 

 derfed or choked with drought may 

 not be able to color their crop. 

 While nitrogen in the soil is essen- 

 tial to grow abundant foliage, a 

 soft, succulent growth caused by 

 too much nitrogen, will retard 

 ratliier than iiroducc color. Potash, 

 lime, suljihiir and, phosjihatefi are 

 probably the, coloring factors as far 

 as soil elements are concerned. 

 To thin the fruit, feed the. tree a 

 balanced ration and protect its 

 foliage from in.sect and fungus foes, 

 is'to prepare for the full .maturity, 

 splendid finish and glorious color- 

 ing of autumn sunshine, without 

 which the labor of the season be- 

 comes partly abortive, 



Citrus Fruits. 



— The ; Importance of Age. ~ 



The young tree bears the largest 

 fruit, and matures them early; but 

 as regards quantity, though there 

 are exceptions, the balance is in 

 favour of the old trees. This varied 

 time of bearing is of great import- 

 ance in an orchard. If your trees 

 are all of the same kind and age, 

 marketing the crop comes aU at 

 once, and outside help, when often 

 hard to secure, will have to be ob- 

 tained. But with fair areas of 

 varied age, one. crop will follow an- 

 other in regular sequence, and the 

 pickers, packers, and carters kept 

 at steady work all the time. 



The young tree, like the, young 

 animal, passes through a number 

 of infantile complaints. The young 

 citrus tree is especially liable to 

 the dangerous black scale that is 

 accompan ed by a sooty fungus 

 covering the leaves. Persistent 

 spraying removes this, and in 

 later life the tree is rarely at- 

 tacked. Red scale V another enemy, 

 is far less virulent to the aged 

 than the young tree. On the other 

 hand, white lice and borers are 

 the accompaniments of decay, and 

 rarely found, except on old trees 

 or imthriftv voung ones. Speak- 

 ing of unthrift}^ young trees, age 

 may be premature, from poor sur- 

 roundings, lack of priming and 

 cultivation, a mere bush, of a tree 

 may show all the signs of senile 

 decay. On the other hand, an aged 

 tree, by a vigorous use of the saw 

 and manure, may retain its youth 

 and a new lease of life. " While 

 there is life there is hope " is a 

 lasting truth in horticulture ; but 

 in case the tree is stunted and 

 long neglected, it will often pay 

 better to root it out rather than 

 go through the process of forcing 

 a new growth. — " Farmer and 

 Grazier." 



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