Published  by 
The  Rural  Publishing  Co. 
333  W.  30lh  Street 
New  York 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
r 
The  Business  Farmer's  Paper 
Weekly.  One  Dollar  Per  Year 
Postpaid 
Single  Copies.  Five  Cents 
VOL.  I, XXV. 
NEW  YORK.  MARCH  11.  1010. 
No.  4369. 
Motor  Wagons  for  Mass.  Gardeners 
The  Service  Around  Boston 
USTOM  SERVICE. — No  longer  than  three  or 
four  years  ago  a  motor  truck  loaded  with  vege¬ 
tables  or  fruit  was  a  rare  sight  in  the  Boston  market 
section.  Now  they  are  so  common  as  to  attract  no 
special  notice.  They  come  in  daily  from  every  direc¬ 
tion  and  bring  all  kinds  of  produce.  The  most 
common  plan  is  the  custom  service;  a  truck  owner, 
looking  for  business  brings  in  the  produce  at  so 
much  per  barrel  or  box;  usually  about,  one-half  cent 
per  bushel  box  per  mile.  The  farmer  helps  load  the 
stuff  and  the  receiver  helps  unload.  The  advantages 
are  prompt  and  safe  delivery  with  no  extra  hand¬ 
ling.  The  boxes  may  he  tilled  heaping  full  and  need 
not  he  slatted  at  top.  The  driver,  too.  may  act  as 
collector,  or  even  as  salesman,  bringing  hack  the 
check  for  the  goods  and  also  the  empty  boxes.  In¬ 
stead  of  an  all-night  trip  with  a  horse-killing  load, 
and  a  tedious  return  trip,  the  present  program  is 
to  collect  the  load  in  the  morning,  load  it,  spend  two 
hours,  more  or  less,  on  the  road,  depending  on  dis¬ 
tance  and  speed,  off  with  the  load  and  spin  hack 
home  to  dinner  with  money  in  the  pocket  and  the 
empties  ready  for  next  trip,  which  may  be  taken 
the  same  day  if  neces¬ 
sary. 
LOADING  AND 
HANDLING;.— For  load¬ 
ing  boxes,  when  heap¬ 
ing  full,  a  rack  is  used 
between  each  tier,  so 
that  the  weight  of  the 
upper  tiers  is  kept  off 
the  contents.  One  hun¬ 
dred  boxes  is  a  common 
load,  and  is  enough  for 
a  three-ton  truck.  Many 
loads  of  50  to  RO  boxes 
are  seen  on  small 
trucks.  The  truck  de¬ 
livery  system  is  liked 
by  many  dealers,  who 
do  not  hesitate  Id  de¬ 
clare  that  it  is  the  com- 
imr  method  for  short- 
haul  delivery  of  all  per 
ishnMe  produce.  It  is 
good  business  for  the 
truckman  in  the  busy 
season:  perhaps  $15  for 
100  boxes  25  t«>  30  miles, 
and  very  likely  a  re¬ 
turn  haul  of  grain  or 
groceries  for  the  local 
dealer.  The  producer  is 
well  pleased,  too.  be¬ 
cause  there  is  no  pack¬ 
ing  for  freight  ship¬ 
ment.  no  hauling  to  the 
stations,  no  broken 
packages  nor  stolen  fruit,  no  miscellaneous  charges 
:it  the  other  end,  and  no  delay  about  the  returns. 
The  past  season,  many  thousand  bushels  of  apples 
were  trucked  into  Boston  from  50  miles  or  less. 
Regular  or  occasional  trips  are  made  from  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  nearby  farming  towns.  Some  of  the  stuff 
is  sold  in  advance  through  agents  by  telephone. 
Other  loads  are  sold  on  commission  or  from  store 
to  store. 
COMPETING  WITH  NEARBY  FARMS.— Hun¬ 
dreds  of  the  larger  gardeners  and  fruit  growers 
own  trucks  of  their  own.  The  advantage  is  great¬ 
est  to  those  who  live  15  to  35  miles  away.  The 
truck  enables  them  to  compete  with  nearby  gar¬ 
deners  in  respect  to  quick,  direct  delivery  in  fresh 
condition.  In  fact  the  coming  of  the  truck  seems 
likely  to  push  the  gardening  sections  farther  into 
the  country;  all  the  more  so.  because  much  of  the 
old  market  garden  land  is  being  used  for  house- 
lots  in  the  rapidly  growing  suburbs. 
WHOLESALE  AND  RETAIL  CSE.— As  yet.  most 
of  the  trucks  are  used  in  wholesale  delivery,  but  now 
and  then  a  farmer,  gardener  or  peddler  is  using  a 
small  truck  for  house  to  house  delivery.  Said  one 
such  farmer  peddler:  “I  raise  fruit,  vegetables,  ber¬ 
ries.  eggs  and  butter.  I  spend  only  a  third  as  much 
time  on  the  road  as  with  a  horse,  and  I  can  peddle 
in  two  towns  instead  of  one.  or  I  can  go  further 
and  reach  a  new  town.  My  produce  keeps  in  good 
condition  and  I  can  hold  trade  better  with  a  motor 
wagon  than  with  a  team.”  Many  of  the  peddling 
wagons  are  light  affairs  made  from  a  second-hand 
automobile.  Others  are  solid  tire,  either  high  or 
low  wheel.  They  are  used  pretty  constantly  except 
when  snow  interferes. 
TRANSPORTIN'  <  i  FANCY  I*.  ERR  IES.— Located 
about  30  miles  from  Boston,  Charles  W.  Mann,  finds 
the  motor  truck  an  important  aid.  Without  it.  he 
says  he  would  not  he  able  to  reach  the  Boston  mar¬ 
ket  with  his  fancy  strawberries  and  tomatoes.  He 
is  also  able  to  easily  reach  Lawrence  and  nearby 
markets,  and  can  make  two  or  three  trips  a  day, 
if  he  likes,  even  in  hot  weather.  When  the  ther¬ 
mometer  registers  100  degrees  he  can  send  a  load  to 
market  when  horses  could  not  be  used.  “I  started 
with  an  old  auto  which  would  carry  only  eight  or 
nine  crates  of  berries.  It  was  a  noisy  machine. 
The  trip  to  market  was  three  miles  and  when  the 
wind  was  right  I  could  almost  tell  when  the  man 
started  for  home.  But  the  machine  was  a  success 
in  getting  the  berries  to  market  and  getting  them 
there  quick:  the  load  could  get  to  town  in  live  min¬ 
utes  on  an  emergency.  When  we  found  that  truck¬ 
ing  was  a  success  we  bought  a  one  and  one-half  ton 
machine  and  I  equipped  it  with  a  special  body  6x11 
feet  with  a  cover  and  sides  four  feet  high.  There 
were  doors  all  around  the  body,  so  that  the  fruit 
could  he  reached  from  anywhere.  In  the  bottom 
are  four  sets  of  springs,  t Ho  arrangement  of  which 
could  not  lie  described  without  seeing  the  machine. 
The  berries  or  tomatoes  ride  as  easily  as  a  boat  in 
the  water:  wo  carry  SO  crates  or  1,600  baskets  and 
get  them  to  Boston  in  two  hours,  they  are  ripe  when 
shipped  hut  open  up  as  nicely  as  they  would  in  the 
house.  They  are  all  ready  to  sell  and  do  not  have 
to  he  picked  over." 
QUICK  DELIVERY. — Several  of  the  market  gar¬ 
deners  In  (he  Worcester  district,  too.  use  motor 
trucks  for  taking  produce  to  the  cities.  IT.  A.  Cook, 
a  prominent  gardener  who  has  trucked  vegetables 
between  Worcester  and  Shrewsbury  for  several 
years,  finds  his  one  and  one-half  ton  truck  enables 
l.im  to  get  along  with  two  horses  instead  of  five.  It 
carries  a  large  load  of  dairy  products,  both  field 
crops  and  those  grown  under  glass,  and  two  trips 
a  day  can  he  made  when  required,  or  even  more 
since  the  load  need  he  only  half  an  hour  on  the 
road  from  farm  to  city.  The  truck  is  especially  use¬ 
ful  when  quick  delivery  is  needed  of  such  products 
as  cut  flowers  wanted  in  several  neighboring  towns 
al  the  same  time.  Prompt  delivery  is  so  important 
in  such  cases  that  it  would  he  necessary  to  hire  a 
truck  if  there  were  none  on  the  farm.  The  I  ruck 
is  a  solid  tire  machine,  but  carries  the  load  in  good 
condition  if  not  run  over  is  miles  an  hour.  It  is 
overhauled  each  Winter,  not  being  used  much  when 
the  roads  are  blocked  with  snow.  After  overhaul¬ 
ing,  it  goes  usually  through  the  next  season  without 
much  trouble.  At  first  the  manufacturer  sent  a  man 
to  the  farm  to  overhaul  the  machine,  but  after 
watching  thp  expert  once  or  twice,  Mr.  Cook  and 
his  son  have  since  been  able  to  attend  to  it  them¬ 
selves  ever  since.  Several  others  near  Worcester 
use  trucks  in  the  same  way  for  wholesale  delivery. 
One  gardener.  Wesley  Bates,  peddles  to  consumers 
with  the  aid  of  an  auto,  it  is  one  of  the  popular 
makes  with  hollow  tires;  a  touring  car  fitted  with 
delivery  body.  He  has  been  using  it  two  years  and 
is  well  pleased  with  the  results.  g.  b.  f. 
Growing  Prize-Winning  Fruit 
ORK  REQUIRED. — The  raising  of  prize-win¬ 
ning  fruit  in  Western  New  York  is  not  really 
such  a  difficult  proposition  as  one  might  think.  It 
is  the  home  of  line  fruit  and  I  believe  that  is  half 
the  battle.  The  rest  is 
easy.  It  simply  con¬ 
sists  of  spraying,  dust- 
tt’im- 
fertiliz- 
other 
about 
365  days  of  the  year. 
This  being  leap  year  we 
expect  to  put  in  366. 
We  are  not  in  the  busi¬ 
ness  for  the  purpose  of 
raising  prize  -  winning 
fruit,  although  we  are 
pleased  when  we  do.  but 
we,  like  all  the  rest,  are 
after  a  living  and  a  lit¬ 
tle  more  if  we  can  get 
it.  and.  the  big  prob¬ 
lem  with  us  is  how 
many  dollars  we  can 
make  our  orchards  pay, 
a  n  d  not  how  many 
prizes  we  can  take.  In 
discussing  the  problem 
from  tin1  prize-winning 
standpoint  I  do  not  wish 
to  he  misunderstood. 
The  method  I  would 
pursue  in  raising  prize- 
winning  fruit,  and  what 
we  actually  do — being 
governed  by  the  dollar 
question — my  neighbors 
may  notice  are  not  al¬ 
ways  in  exact  accord. 
QUALITY  NEEDED.— The  requisites  of  prize- 
whining  fruit  are:  Size,  color,  form,  quality,  and 
freedom  from  disease,  and  of  course  uniformity. 
This  last  qualification  probably  wins  or  loses  more 
prizes  than  all  the  rest  and  the  fruit  is  not  to  blame. 
It  all  lies  in  the  eyes  of  the  one  selecting  the  fruit 
and  the  care  and  thoroughness  he  uses  on  the  job. 
Given  a  thorough  man  with  good  eyes,  what  about 
the  apple?  Of  the  above  mentioned  requisites, 
form  and  quality  we  come  naturally  by.  That  we 
have  Western  New  York  to  thank  for.  Size,  color 
and  freedom  from  disease  we  have  to  fight  for. 
TREES  AND  THEIR  CARE.— We  would  prefer 
young  trees,  from  eight  to  twelve  years  old.  hut  if 
we  didn't  have  them  we  would  try  to  duplicate  con¬ 
ditions  on  old  trees,  by  giving  them  plenty  of  air 
and  light,  by  a  thorough  trimming  and  not  allowing 
them  to  overbear.  If  overloaded,  thin,  and  for 
prize-winners,  thin  thoroughly  and  early.  Do  not 
look  for  prize-winners  on  a  tree  with  a  light  crop, 
however,  as  they  are  apt  to  be  o\  er-size  and  not 
true  to  form.  Our  next  concern  would  he  to  con¬ 
serve  the  moisture,  and  we  do  this  by  getting  on  the 
land  as  soon  as  it  is  in  condition  to  work  and  keep¬ 
ing  it  up  throughout  the  season.  Stir  the  ground 
about  once  a  week  until  about  July  loth,  then  get 
in  a  cover  crop.  The  date  will  vary  but  sow  as 
ing,  cultivating, 
ming,  thinning, 
ing  and  a  few 
“ings”  for  only 
A  Hedge  of  Sweet  Peas.  Fig.  143 
