VOL. LV.— Xo. 3,OS5. 



SATURDAY . DECEMBEiR 14, 1912. 



THE 



GARDENERS 



9 



MAGAZINE 



NOTE OF THE WEEK. 



Mark 



used ill the past they shoiild be sufficient 

 for present-day requirements. It is sur- 

 prising that men who are in no way defi- 



cient in intelligence, but are constantly posed to view. 



sands of miles without injury, they pre- 

 sent an attractive appearance ivhon the 

 boxes are opened and the fruits are ex- 



On the other hand, fruit 



In entering upon the cultivation of apples alert upon most matters should so closely growers in this country have, with a few 

 for the supply of the home markets many 



methods 



ohiection to boxes 



points have to be carefully considered, and Colonial and foreign friiit growers to take on account of the additional expense in- 

 some deviations have to be made from the from them annually a considerable propor- 



old methods of procedure before a high tion of their profits. 



ed. Chief be any difference of opinion as to British nse from time well nigh immemorial. It 



volved, and, as a consequence thereot, tney 

 There cannot well adhere to the baskets that have been in 



among the matters of importance in the apples being, as a whole, the finest a]>ples 

 cultivation of apples for profit are the in the w^orld, provided, of course, the fruit 

 questions of soil and site, the 

 accessibility of the orchards and 

 plantations to suitable markets, 

 the preparation of the soil, 

 planting the trees, pruning and 

 general cultivation, and market- 



ing 



the fruit. 



If all these 



questions have the attention 

 they so well merit, there will be 

 found a remarkable concensus of 

 opinion among those who have 

 had experience in hardy fiiiit 

 cult u r o as to the lines th a t 

 should be followed in all but the 

 last detail. With roi^ard to the 



manner in which fruit should be 

 marketed, there is usually a 

 sharp divei-gence of opinion, and 

 why this should be so is difficult 

 to understand, even by those who 

 are fully acquainted with what 

 is being done both at home and 

 abroad. Fruit growers avIio have 

 had some experience in the pro- 

 duction of market supplies of 

 apples will rea-dily agree that the 

 site and soil should be such as to 

 n^eef:i the requirements of the 

 trees ; that the markets for the 

 disposal of the fruit should be 

 within a convenient distance of 

 the markets, or the railway by 

 which they can be conveyed in 

 the place of sale; tliat tlu^ soil 

 should be thoroughly prepared, 

 the trees skilfully planted and 

 pruned, and the varieties be se- 

 lected w ith due regard to the climatic and 



that 



ME. EENEST BALLARD. 



(See next page.) 



is perfectly sound, and otherwise in the th 



obtain in the re- best condition. Not infrequently British 



being practically impossible to pack apples 



so tightly in sieves, half-sieves, and other 



baskets that have no lid to pre- 

 vent movement, the fruits are 

 more or le^s damaged by being 

 rubbed against the sides of the 

 basket. Not only are they 

 rendere<l somewhat unsightly by 

 the friction to which the skin 

 is subjected in the course of 

 transit, but the damage done is 

 sufficient to greatly impair their 

 keeping properties. It may, of 

 course, be said that the length 

 of time the fruits remain sound 

 after they are marketed is of no 

 concern of the groAver. but so far 

 from this being the case, it has 

 a direct influence upon his re- 

 turns. The consumer who pos- 

 sesses an ordinary degree of in- 

 telligence takes into account, not 

 only the amount he pays for a 

 certain quantity of apples, but 

 carefully estimates the propor- 

 tion that will remain sound long 

 enoutrh to be used for dessert or 



purposes, as the case 

 This being so, he will 

 not pay at the same rate for fruit 

 packed in baskets as for that 

 which is packed in boxes. There 

 is a considerable advantage in 

 the use of boxes for eulinary 

 apples, because of little injury 

 being don© to them in transit, 

 bvit in the case of choice dessert 

 varieties the advantage is very 

 great. By the use of boxes for 

 latter the number or weight of 

 can be readily adapts to suit 



culinary 

 mav be. 



e 



fruit 



apples are not perfectly sound or in the the requirements of the different classes of 



soil <'oiulitions 



speitive districts. But when we mim 



to a consideration of the question of market- best condition when they reach the mar- 



ing the fruit it is found that there is a con- kets, and, in consequence, present a much , v • v + i a ] 



siderable difference of opinion as to whether less satisfactory appearance than do fruits what they are biiymg has not heen ^^^^^^J 



purchasers, who can not only buy exactly 

 what thev want, but they can feel that 



any change is desirable 

 growers will ask what occasion is there for 



a fuss about such a simpU^ matter as ]^:)c k- 

 ino* 



Some market received from the Colonial and foreign 



jured 



' impaired, 



had to travel lias been <onsidora.l)lv loss. With the much^esired change in packing 



"rowers, although the distance they liave keeping properties appreciabl 



to apples 



riiis difference in apiKniranco audVondi- bv the substitution of light deal boxes for 



the sieves and other baskets, there should 

 be an improvement in the grading of fruit 



tion is Inroelv <lue to the divergence in 

 the views held with regard to the various 

 methods of packing. The Colonial and that the purcha 



chase 



Others will toll you tliai long 

 hefore boxes and cross-handled baskets Avere 

 Trientioned in connection with ap})lcs, and 

 ■^(^>ni(. otluM- f)f tlic bardy fi'uits, half-bushel 

 liushol baskets wcro' in use for sending 



c • ~ 



"lut to the London and other markets. A • . - ~ i i • +1, 



t('\v may go oven further and express the as apples Avlien carefully packed in boxes nuuiy instances, sent to the market in tne 



opinion" tliat if such liaskets were largely of moderate size can be sent some thou- same receptacles, with the result that inucn 



foreign fruit growers pack their apples i" exactly what they require. At the present 

 boxes or barrels, chiefly th.- f<)rincr. mid tiiiuv first and second-grade fruit is. in too 



