364 
June  4 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
there  is  no  need  to  use  whale-oil  soap.  Even  this  re¬ 
mains  perfectly  emulsified  for  several  days. 
The  above  emulsion  may  be  used  to  free  stock  from 
lice,  but,  if  used  on  plants,  it  must  be  diluted  till  only 
one-fifteenth  is  oil.  If  we  use  one  pint  of  kerosene  oil, 
we  must  add  water  till  we  have  15  pints  in  all.  Of 
course,  if  we  wish  to  make  it  in  large  quantity,  we 
can  do  so,  but  we  must  take  care  to  use  the  above  pro¬ 
portions.  If  the  emulsion  is  kept  some  time  before 
dilution,  a  gelatinous  mass  forms  which  is  not  easily 
mixed  with  the  fresh  water,  unless  the  latter  is  heated. 
Then  it  dilutes  easily  and  forms  a  perfect  emulsion. 
In  case  it  is  diluted  at  once,  it  mixes  perfectly  and 
always  gives  a  permanent  emulsion.  This  emulsion  is 
as  good  and  as  easily  made  as  that  by  the  other  for¬ 
mula,  and  always  works.  Why,  then,  should  we  not 
let  the  other  go  into  “innocuous  desuetude?”  It 
would  certainly  aid  the  reputation  of  the  kerosene 
emulsion  and  the  public  to  do  so.  [prof.]  a.  .t.  cook. 
Cultivation  in  Wet  Weather. 
East  year  we  discussed  the  question  of  cultivating  crops  so  as  to  con¬ 
serve  moisture,  and  it  seemed  settled  that  frequent,  light  cultivation 
was  very  useful  In  time  of  drought.  How  about  a  wet  season  ?  If,  as 
now  seems  likely,  this  season  is  wetter  than  the  average,  by  what 
rules  shall  you  be  guided  in  running  the  cultivator?  In  other  words, 
to  what  extent  will  your  practice  differ  from  that  in  a  dry  season  ? 
True,  the  spring  is  wet,  but  that  is  no  indication  but 
that  later  on  we  shall  have  the  usual  period  of  dry 
weather.  In  fact,  one  extreme  is  likely  to  follow  an¬ 
other  ;  so  we  are  to  prepare  for  dry  weather,  and  if  it 
does  not  come,  no  harm  will  be  done.  Corn  should  be 
cultivated,  if  possible,  soon  after  it  is  planted  and  be¬ 
fore  it  comes  up  ;  then  it  may  be  harrowed  and  rolled, 
if  necessary,  though  it  would  be  better  not  to  roll  if 
rainy.  A  second  cultivation  can  be  given  when  the  corn 
is  about  two  inches  high.  Both  of  these  should  be  as 
deep  as  is  consistent  with  good  work,  whether  the 
spring  is  wet  or  dry,  because  the  corn  needs  the 
warmth  that  comes  from  drying  and  aerating  the 
ground.  When  it  gets  hot  the  cultivation  should  be 
shallower  and  if  a  period  of  excessively  dry  weather 
comes  on,  then  the  cultivation  should  be  more  fre¬ 
quent  and  shallower  than  it  would  be  if  there  were  an 
abundance  of  moisture.  i.  p.  Roberts. 
Unquestionably,  the  soil  moisture  is  conserved  by 
light  surface  tillage  in  a  dry  time.  It  is  simply  a 
method  of  shading  the  soil,  without  shading  the  crop  ; 
and  has  a  sound,  practical  as  well  as  theoretical  basis. 
Every  farmer  who  has  tried  it  carefully  and  thoroughly 
can  testify  to  its  utility.  As  to  the  effect  of  such  til¬ 
lage  in  a  wet  season,  to  alleviate  the  situation  with 
regard  to  an  excess  of  precipitation,  I  have  no  posi¬ 
tive  data  to  go  upon.  Tillage  would  be  good  for  the 
crop,  undoubtedly  ;  but  on  all  but  the  lightest  soils 
there  are  obvious  practical  difficulties  to  be  encountered. 
On  heavy  soils,  with  frequent  rains,  tillage  is  almost 
if  not  quite  impossible  ;  and  the  practical  agricultur¬ 
ist,  knowing  this  fact,  seeks  to  relieve  the  situation  in 
advance  by  tile  drains.  But  it  is  certainly  our  duty 
at  such  times  to  let  no  hours  pass  when  tillage  is  pos¬ 
sible  without  putting  the  teams  to  work.  A  rainy 
time  in  summer  is  the  heyday  of  the  weeds,  and  they 
put  in  their  best  licks  then  to  get  ahead  of  the 
crop.  Even  though  it  may  rain  every  other  day,  I 
would  try  to  get  over  as  much  ground  as  I  could,  so 
as  to  keep  the  weeds  cut  off,  and  prevent  their  taking 
a  fresh  hold  of  the  ground.  In  the  garden,  I  would 
rake  them  up  and  wheel  them  off.  At  the  present 
time  wre  have,  in  Northern  Vermont,  more  indications 
of  a  dry  than  a  wet  season,  having  had  no  soaking 
rain  for  the  past  three  weeks.  t.  h.  uoskixs. 
I  shall  run  the  cultivator  as  often  as  I  can  when  the 
land  is  in  suitable  condition  to  be  worked.  If  the  sea¬ 
son  is  wet,  I  may  cultivate  somewhat  deeper  than  I 
would  if  dry,  for  the  purpose  of  aerating  the  soil.  I 
think  the  presence  of  fresh  air  in  it  is  very  necessary 
for  vigorous  plant  growth.  In  a  wet  season  frequent 
cultivation  is  needed  to  keep  down  the  weeds,  but  even 
if  there  were  none  of  these,  I  think  the  best  results 
would  be  obtained  when  the  soil  is  stirred  after  every 
rain  sufficiently  heavy  to  wet  it.  m.  morse. 
In  a  dry  season  much  of  my  cultivating  is  done  to 
conserve  moisture  ;  in  a  wet  one,  the  problem  is  to 
keep  the  weeds  back.  I  practice  shallow  cultivation 
in  both  cases  and  aim  to  start  the  cultivator  as  soon 
as  the  ground  is  dry  enough  after  every  rain,  for  I 
cannot  tell  but  each  rain  may  be  the  last  for  quite  a 
long  period.  It  takes  only  a  few  days’  sun  and  wind 
to  turn  an  over-wet  clay  soil  into  an  asphalt  pave¬ 
ment.  The  only  safety  lies  in  accepting  each  rain  as 
the  final  one  of  the  season,  and  at  the  proper  time 
(before  a  crust  forms)  starting  the  cultivator.  Some¬ 
times  one  will  have  to  do  a  great  deal  of  hand  work 
in  a  wet  time.  This  is  the  theory  I  mean  to  work  on, 
but  it  is  not  at  all  certain  whether  I  shall  have  any¬ 
thing  to  cultivate.  I  was  ready  three  weeks  ago  to 
put  in  five  acres  of  potatoes,  but  have  not  been  able  to 
get  a  team  in  the  field  since,  although  the  wettest  por¬ 
tions  are  tile-drained.  It  has  rained  nearly  every  day. 
I  think  it  fortunate  that  I  did  not  succeed  in  planting 
before  the  rains  came,  for  the  few  who  did  report  a 
loss  of  from  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  their  seed. 
Is  it  not  probable  there  would  be  a  great  loss  of  ni¬ 
trates,  were  high-grade  fertilizers  in  the  ground 
during  such  floods,  when  there  are  no  roots  to  take 
up  plant  food  ?  c.  G.  wileiams. 
[We  think  so. — Eds.] 
The  Evaporated  Fruit  Industry. 
( Concluded .) 
Fruit  Growers  not  Discouraged. 
“  Do  you  hear  much  about  the  discouragement  of 
fruit  growers  in  the  Eastern,  Middle  and  Western 
States?  ” 
“  On  account  of  the  low  prices  of  evaporated  fruits 
the  complaint  comes  largely  from  the  dealers  and  the 
producers.  Particularly  during  the  past  few  years  the 
dealers  have  purchased  quite  heavily  in  the  beginning 
of  the  season,  having  made  large  contracts  in  antici¬ 
pation  of  a  good  market  and  fairly  remunerative  prices, 
but  they  were  disappointed.” 
“  Is  there  anything  new  in  regard  to  the  packages 
of  evaporated  apples  ?  ” 
“  There  seems  to  be  no  question  or  difference  of 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  boxes  now  employed.  The 
fruit  is  usually  packed  in  boxes  containing  50  pounds 
net.” 
“  What  kinds  of  fruits  are  most  profitable  at  the 
present  time  to  the  growers  ?  ” 
“  The  apple  is  the  leading  fruit.  What  its  future 
value  may  be  will  depend  largely  upon  the  extent  of 
the  production,  the  California  competition,  and  partic¬ 
ularly  the  outlets  abroad.  The  apple  is  a  staple  fruit, 
there  is  a  demand  for  it  throughout  the  entire  world, 
and  in  its  evaporated  form  it  is  more  satisfactory  for 
exportation  to  distant  countries  than  in  any  other 
form,  either  fresh  or  canned.  Evaporated  apples 
are  used  almost  entirely  for  culinary  purposes.  The 
article  that  is  used  in  France  for  making  cider  and 
cider  wine  is  the  so-called  chopped  apple,  the  apple 
being  simply  sliced  and  dried  without  paring  or  coring. 
There  is  a  large  demand  for  this  quality  of  fruit.  The 
business  was  commenced  in  1880  ;  about  10  barrels 
having  been  sent  to  France  by  way  of  introduction, 
and  since  then  the  demand  has  reached  about  40,()1)0 
barrels  per  year.  The  water  is  eliminated  on  this  side 
by  drying  and  added  to  the  fruit  in  the  process  of 
manufacture  on  the  pther.” 
“  Have  you  noticed  that  foreign  countries  have  en¬ 
deavored  to  rule  out  evaporated  apples  on  account  of 
certain  poisonous  matter  which  they  claim  the  fruit  is 
tainted  with  ?  ” 
“  Germany  has  practically  succeeded.  During  the 
past  48  hours  we  have  had  advices  of  the  seizure  of  a. 
number  of  parcels  by  the  police  authorities  at  Ham¬ 
burg  on  account  of  the  alleged  injurious  character  of 
the  fruit.  The  German  ports  may  be  said  to  be  prac¬ 
tically  closed  against  American  evaporated  apples. 
The  attention  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  has  been  called  to  the  matter  and  a  com¬ 
mission  has  been  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  looking 
closely  into  it,  and  as  soon  as  it  has  reported  our  con¬ 
suls  will  undoubtedly  be  advised  to  take  necessary 
action.  There  is  no  cause  in  fact  for  this  prejudice. 
Thousands  of  tons  of  such  fruit  have  been  used  for  30 
years  in  this  country  and  not  one  single  case  of  injury 
or  illness  has  been  reported.” 
“  Does  the  principal  objection  arise  from  the  use  of 
zinc  trays  upon  which  the  fruit  is  dried  ?” 
“  The  principal  objection  appears  to  be  the  presence 
of  a  minute  quantity  of  metallic  oxides,  sometimes 
called  zinc,  which  it  is  claimed  the  fruit  takes  up  if 
dried  on  galvanized  wire  trays.  Dr.  Lattimore,  of  the 
University  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  some  years  ago  made 
a  very  elaborate  report  upon  this  matter  to  the  Board 
of  Health  of  New  York  State,  in  which  he  claimed 
that  from  his  investigation  of  the  mode  of  manufac¬ 
ture  and  from  an  analysis  made,  he  found  nothing  that 
would  make  the  fruit  in  any  sense  injurious  to  human 
life  or  that  would  prevent  it  from  being  used  in  the 
widest  manner.” 
“  That  had  reference  to  the  process  of  evaporation 
on  galvanized  iron  trays.  Did  he  speak  of  the  bleach¬ 
ing  process,  as  to  whether  that  was  injurious  ?  ” 
“  Yes.  He  also  made  a  report  on  the  bleaching  pro¬ 
cess  to  the  eff edt  that  this  mode  of  treatment  affected  the 
fruit  in  no  wise  injuriously,  and  it  not  only  preserved 
the  quality,  but  prevented  for  a  much  longer  period 
the  development  of  any  insect  larvae  which  may  have 
been  in  the  fruit,  and  rendered  it  more  sightly  and 
palatable. 
Evaporation  Industry  in  Europe. 
“  You  have  visited  Europe  several  times  ?” 
“  Yes,  in  the  interest  of  our  business  and  the  fruit 
trade  ? ” 
“  What  can  you  say  as  to  the  condition  of  things 
over  there  ?  ” 
“  France  perhaps  shows  the  greatest  progress  in  the 
cultivation  of  fruit.  The  apple  crop  aggregates  annu¬ 
ally  about  100,000,000  francs,  or,  say,  §20,#00,000. 
Ninety-five  per  cent  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
cider,  and  only  a  small  quantity  of  apples  are  grown 
for  the  table.  The  varieties  there  are  largely  wild 
semi-cultivated,  and  they  aie  not  grown  in  regular 
orchards  such  as  are  found  here.” 
“  Can  they  compete  with  our  products?  ” 
“  I  think  not.  They  are  at  least  100  years  behind 
us.  The  orchards  get  little  or  no  attention  ;  the  varie¬ 
ties  are  not  particularly  cared  for  or  developed,  and, 
so  far  as  competition  is  concerned,  we  have  nothing  to 
fear  for  at  least  50  years,  if  not  more.” 
“  Are  their  imports  increasing  ?  ” 
“  The  imports  of  France  are  yearly  increasing. 
There  seems  to  be  a  better  and  larger  demand  for  our 
apple  products,  particularly  on  account  of  the  superior 
flavor  of  the  fruit,  ours  being  worth  more  and  held  in 
higher  favor  than  the  native  sorts.” 
“  What  can  you  say  that  would  be  encouraging  to 
our  fruit  growers  in  regard  to  the  evaporating  in¬ 
dustry  ?  ” 
“  It  seems  as  though  for  the  present  we  have  a  suffi¬ 
cient  acreage  devoted  to  apple  orchards.  There  is  a  bet¬ 
ter  demand  for  fine  pears,  cherries  and  some  varieties  of 
plums.  Small  fruits  should  be  mostly  sold  in  the  fresh 
state,  especially  red  and  black  raspberries  and  fine 
qualities  of  blackberries.” 
“  You  think  then  the  growers  should  confine  them¬ 
selves  more  especially  to  fresh  fruits  ?  ” 
“  Whenever  it  is  possible.  The  evaporator  should 
be  employed  to  utilize  the  surplus  product,  that  which 
cannot  be  easily  marketed.” 
“  Is  the  cherry  often  evaporated  ?  ” 
“Not  in  the  Northern  States.  The  currant  is  evap¬ 
orated,  but  only  in  moderate  quantities,  although  a 
good  demand  might  be  developed  for  it.  The  diffi¬ 
culty  has  been  that  the  price  of  the  currant  in  the 
fresh  state  has  been  so  high  as  to  prevent  its  being 
evaporated.” 
One  Great  Mistake. 
“Could  you  offer  anything  that  would  be  of  interest 
to  our  readers  ?  ” 
“  The  tendency  of  those  engaged  in  evaporating  for 
the  past  few  years  has  been  to  produce  inferior  grades, 
and  I  think  this  is  a  great  mistake.  Buyers  are  now 
reluctant  to  purchase  qualities  which  might  have  been 
considered  prime  and  merchantable  some  years  ago. 
The  consumer  demands  a  higher  grade  of  everything 
in  the  evaporated  fruit  line.  He  wants  better  varie¬ 
ties,  better  qualities,  and  he  wants  them  prepared  and 
preserved  in  the  best  possible  manner.  It  is  very 
difficult  to  find  a  market  at  any  price  for  fruit  that 
has  not  been  properly  cured  or  that  has  not  been  suffi¬ 
ciently  dried.” 
“  Then  the  fruit  grower  who  evaporates  his  product 
must  make  the  best  article  or  none  at  all  ?” 
“  His  chances  for  profit  are  much  better  if  he  makes 
a  superior  quality.  We  can  sell  in  Paris,  Hamburg 
and  London  to-day  a  fancy  grade  of  evaporated  apples 
at  7  }4  to  Scents  per  pound,  while  the  market  is  glutted 
with  prime  and  inferior  qualities  which  may  be  had  at 
from  4)4  to  5  cents.  There  is  a  scarcity  of  the  finer 
grades ;  in  fact,  we  cannot  supply  our  orders  for 
such.” 
“  Then  there  is  no  great  surplus  in  the  hands  of  the 
dealers  at  present  ?” 
“  The  entire  production  will  be  pretty  well  marketed 
before  the  close  of  the  year,  for  certainly  the  low 
prices  will  stimulate  large  consumption.” 
“  Then  the  present  depression  is  simply  temporary 
to  a  certain  degree  you  think  ?” 
“  The  present  lack  of  demand  arises  chiefly  from  the 
fact  that  a  large  quantity  of  fruit  was  preserved  in 
cans  by  the  housewives  of  the  country  owing  to  the 
surplus  of  fresh  fruit  and  to  the  extremely  low  prices 
of  sugar.  For  the  first  time  in  many  years  sugar  was 
at  a  price  that  induced  almost  every  person  who  grew 
or  who  could  buy  fresh  fruits,  to  preserve  them;  in  fact 
the  demand  was  so  great  that  the  supply  of  Mason  cans 
became  exhausted  before  the  season  was  half  ended. 
The  same  was  true  in  the  Western  States.  One  of  the 
largest  dealers  in  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  informed  me  during 
the  autumn  months  that  he  had  shipped  150  car-loads 
of  Mason  jars- — more  than  he  had  sold  during  the  prev¬ 
ious  five  years.” 
“I  can  easily  see  that  this  would  produce  a  very 
marked  result  on  the  evaporated  fruit.” 
“It  of  course  will  affect  it  only  for  a  short  time. 
Many  of  the  people  who  canned  er  preserved  fruit 
were  inexperienced  or  did  so  for  the  Yte-st  time  and  the 
result  was  anything  but  what  they  expected.  Besides, 
they  could  at  all  times  since  have  purchased'  fruit 
equally  good  in  the  ordinary  cans  for  less  money.” 
“  Do  you  consider  the  crop  last  year  was  a  very  large 
one  ?” 
“  The  crop  in  the  Eastern  States  was  much  larger 
thau  estimated  at  the  beginning  of  the  year ;  the 
supply  in  the  Western  States  was  not  very  large,  but 
the  facilities  for  gathering  and  harvesting  are  now  so 
