566 



FIRST F R U I TS. 



son of their location distant from the markets in which 

 their products are sold. Upwards of $100,000,000 is in- 

 vested in the industry, the production being $76,500,000, 

 realized from 534,440 acres of land. The work en- 

 gages 216,765 men, 9,264 women and 14,874 children, in 

 addition to 75,868 horses and mules, and the use of 

 nearly $9,000,000 worth of agricultural implements. 



Kelsey Plum a Good Shipper. — I received yester- 

 day by mail from Ocean Springs, Miss., in a wooden 

 box containing cacti, a Kelsey plum which weighed 150 

 grammes, in a perfectly sound and fresh condition. There 

 was only this single plum in the box, but I think the 

 fruit could be shipped in quantities even to San Jose, 

 which is more trying than a shipment to Europe, as one 

 can see from the condition in which boxes generally ar- 

 rive here by mail. It seems that they must withstand a 

 good deal in the passage ! Fortunately, we have a good 

 administration of the foreign mail department now. — C. 

 Werchle, San Jose, Costa Kico, J'lly 30. 



Any one familiar with the methods employed to se- 

 cure and maintain the extravagantly high prices of 

 Niagara grapes in this market at the time the vineyard 

 boom was being worked, will not be surprised at the 

 comparatively low prices for which they sold last year, 

 and those for which they are now selling. Some of 

 those who were induced to put out extensive vineyards 

 are liable to be sadly disappointed. The condition in 

 which many of them arrive from the south denotes 

 either serious defects in the variety or in the manner of 

 handling and packing. They fall far short of meeting 

 the requirements for a first-class table grape in this 

 market. 



Bagging Tomatoes — Another R. N.-Y. Discovery. — 

 Tomatoes bagged at the Rural grounds just after the 

 fruit had well set ripened at least ten days earlier than 

 the rest, being as much improved in appearance as 

 grapes are improved by the same treatment. It is 

 further worthy of note that the bagged specimens ripen 

 about the stem perfectly. That grapes should be some- 

 what retarded in ripening by bagging, and tomatoes ad- 

 vanced, is not easily explained. If, during other sea- 

 sons as well as the present, it should appear that the 

 ripening of tomatoes may be hastened by a week or ten 

 days in this way, it will prove a valuable discovery, 

 since it is very easy to bag the tomatoes at a trifling 

 cost. 



Massachusetts Horticultural Society. — At the 

 meeting of the society, July 11, 1891, the Gardeners' 

 and Florists' club of Boston offered the following prizes : 

 For the annual exhibition of plants and flowers, Sep- 

 tember I to 4 : For the best mantel decoration, $100 ; 

 second prize, $50. For the annual Chrysanthemum 



show, November 3 to 6; For the best ten vases of chry- 

 santhemums, of ten named varieties, ten long stemmed 

 blooms of one variety in each vase, $75 ; second prize, 

 $50. This offer was accepted, and it was voted that 

 the prizes be awarded by judges specially appointed for 

 that purpose from outside of Boston ; that the articles be 

 designated by numbers, and that no names of contribu- 

 tors be placed on them until after the prizes have been 

 awarded. Address, Patrick Norton, Horticultural Hall, 

 Boston. 



High Grade Products Mean Low Cost Transpor- 

 tation. — "There may be good cause for complaint 

 against freight rates," says O. C. Knox in the Florida 

 Farm and Frtcit-Groti^er " but can we not remedy this evil 

 by closer attention to varieties and by taking care that 

 nothing but the very finest selected fruit is shipped, and 

 that packed with the best of care? Freight charges are just 

 the same on second quality as on first. While many 

 this year have had good crops, their returns have been 

 little or nothing. From nineteen trees we picked about 

 forty bushels, and only three crates, sold for less than 

 $5 per half-bushel crate. These were packed in trays 

 of common lath, made to fill the crate, and each peach 

 nicely wrapped in orange wraps. Shipping in this way 

 gives the fruit a chance to ripen on the tree ; it colors 

 up much finer and is better every way. We had re- 

 ports from some packages that opened well after being 

 a whole week packed. Eight crates, shipped June 17 

 and 18, sold for $48; freight charges $11.60; commis- 

 sion, $4.80 — $16.40 — leaving a net return of $31.60, or 

 $7.90 a bushel net. " 



A Model Farm for Emigrants. — Many parties who, 

 like myself, were raised in other lands have something 

 to learn. Soil, climate and surroundings are all new to 

 us ; and I am looking for thousands of emigrants from 

 Europe to settle in the southland in the near future. 

 One English company has just purchased 22,000 acres 

 of land at this point, and another 156,000 acres in an 

 adjoining county. They are to be settled from England 

 and Germany. I have taken charge of lands belonging 

 to these parties, and am preparing it for an experiment 

 farm, to show emigrants what can be grown here. The 

 company also offer to donate 500 acres to the state for 

 similar purposes. They will also give alternate 40-acre 

 blocks to actual settlers on their lands. I am looking for 

 help in starting the farm from several stations in the south, 

 and particularly from the R. K. farms in Texas, which 

 have been used for the same purpose. I shall plant the 

 pecan, English walnut, etc., on quite a large scale. We 

 have narrow, but rich, creek and river bottoms that I 

 think will grow them to perfection, and I believe they 

 will prove valuable. I shall also plant about 12 acres in 

 southern varieties of apples. — Thomas Brigden, Walker 

 Co., Ala. 



Refrigerator System Tried in Arkansas. — Our 



