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RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
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portant  to  know  the  minimum  carload  weights  as 
well  as  the  freight  rate.  In  some  eases  the  mini¬ 
mum  carload  weight  for  peaches  is  16.000  pounds, 
while  in  others  it  is  20,000  pounds.  This  would  re¬ 
quire  about  .125  to  310  crates,  or  about  630  to  640 
one-half  bushel  baskets  in  the  first  instance  in  order 
to  receive  the  carload  rate.  The  part  carload  rate 
is  commonly  one-half  more  than  the  carload  rate, 
which  is  a  fact,  of  considerable  importance  and  em¬ 
phasizes  one  advantage  of  cooperative  shipping 
among  small  growers. 
HANDLING  THE  CROP.— By  the  middle  of  .Time 
the  grower  should  be  able  to  judge  the  amount  of 
his  crop  fairly  accurately,  and  should  then  make 
definite  arrangements  for  the  necessary  teams,  la¬ 
bor  and  packages.  Labor  is  scarce  and  difficult  to 
secure  this  year  in  nearly  all  sections.  Rome  peach 
growers  have  already  organized  their  forces  by  en¬ 
gaging  help  in  any  way  that  it  could  he  obtained. 
Good  organization  and  management  is  necessary  in 
any  season  for  the  prompt  and  economic  handling 
of  the  crop  but  it  will  be  particularly  so  in  1916. 
Labor  and  teams  must  be  so  managed  as  to  secure 
the  maximum  pack  and  shipment  each  day.  Rome 
men  can  pick  fruit  rapidly  and  well,  and  yet  do  not 
make  very  satisfactory  packers.  A  good  manager 
studies  his  men.  and  during  the  first  few  days  of 
the  peach  season  shifts  them  about  until  lie  can  de¬ 
termine  what  sort  of  work  each  man  c-nn  do  best, 
and  then  keeps  him  at  it.  The  constant  shifting  of 
men  from  one  kind  of  work  to  another  when  the 
shipping  season  is  well  under  way  is  bad  practice 
and  leads  to  errors  and  delays. 
PACKING. — Every  advantage  should  be  taken  of 
labor-saving  devices,  such  as  a  convenient  and  well 
arranged  packing-house  and  tables.  A  good  laborer 
may  waste  much  time  unless  these  matters  are 
properly  arranged  for.  Rome  sort  of  a  packing 
shed  or  house  is  a  necessity  if  much  fruit  is  to  be 
handled.  In  case  of  sudden  showers  which  may 
occur  frequently  in  Rummer  the  baskets,  crates,  la¬ 
bels,  etc.,  are  kept,  dry  and  the  work  of  packing  may 
continue  if  a  supply  of  fruit  has  been  placed  in  the 
house.  Fruit,  packages  are  made  of  wood  veneer 
and  warp  and  mold  badly  if  allowed  to  become  wet. 
Each  well-arranged  packing  house  should  also  be 
provided  with  some  sort,  of  a  simple  desk  where  rec¬ 
ords  of  labor,  packages  and  shipments  may  be  kept 
each  day. 
THE  PACIvING-IIOUSE.  —  The  packing-house 
should  also  have  a  cement  or  wood  floor  which  can 
he  kept  clean.  Dirt  floors  are  decidedly  objection¬ 
able  since  fruit  is  occasionally  dropped  and  crushed 
and  packages  placed  upon  such  a  floor  become 
stained,  sandy  and  dirty.  The  packing-house  should 
be  so  arranged  as  to  require  the  least,  possible  car¬ 
rying  and  handling  of  the  fruit.  Fruit  for  packing 
should  he  delivered  to  the  table  from  one  side  only. 
It  should  not  be  necessary  at  any  time  for  packers 
to  stand  aside  while  someone  supplies  the  table 
with  fruit.  Rufficient  space  should  be  provided 
around  the  packing  house  so  that  teams  can  readily 
deliver  and  haul  away  fruit  without  confusion.  It 
is  a  mistake  also  to  deliver  and  haul  away  fruit 
from  the  same  door  of  a  packing-house  as  this  will 
surely  lead  to  delays. 
PICKING  THE  FRUIT.— The' fruit  should  be 
picked  and  taken  to  a  packing-house  for  grading, 
whether  it  is  to  be  sold  in  baskets  or  crates.  It  is 
sometimes  sold  “orchard  run,*’  but  this  is  the  ex¬ 
ception.  The  picking  of  the  fruit  is  really  a  most 
important  feature  of  the  business,  since  proper  ma¬ 
turity  determines  both  shipping  quality  and  flavor. 
Fruit  that  is  too  green  when  picked  may  ship  well, 
but  it  lacks  color,  finish  and  quality,  and  always 
sells  at  a  lower  price.  During  periods  of  liberal 
supply  such  fruit  is  difficult  to  sell  at  any  price. 
On  the  other  hand,  fully  ripe  fruit  has  reached  its 
highest  quality,  but  will  not  stand  shipment  with¬ 
out  becoming  bruised  and  must  then  be  sold  and  con¬ 
sumed  quickly  or  it.  decays.  This  results  in  low 
prices,  and  sales  are  slow  if  the  quantity  of  fruit 
upon  the  market  is  large.  Pickers  should  be  in¬ 
structed  to  judge  the  maturity  of  the  fruit  by  its 
color.  Pressing  and  squeezing  the  fruit  with  the 
finger  should  not  he  tolerated.  As  the  fruit  be¬ 
gins  to  ripen  the  green  under  color  changes  to  a 
cream  white,  yellow  or  orange  according  to  the 
variety.  It  requires  some  actual  experience  with  a 
variety  to  judge  “shipping  maturity”  accurately. 
Rome  varieties,  such  as  Belle,  Elberta  and  J.  H. 
Hale,  are  quite  firm  when  actually  ripe,  while  others 
such  as  Greensboro  and  Mountain  Rose  are  soft. 
MARKET  DEMANDS. — When  shipping  peaches  to 
a  wholesale  market  the  fact  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  they  may  not  be  sold  for  consumption  for 
at  least  two  day  scatter  arrival.  They  may  be  hauled 
or  reshipped  some  distance  to  a  retailer,  and  it  re¬ 
quires  a  little  time  for  him  to  dispose  of  them.  Bad 
weather  and  other  factors  may  delay  the  sale  of  the 
fruit.  It  is  necessary  that  the  fruit  “stand  up"  for 
al  least  4S  hours  in  most  cases.  If  a  retailer  finds 
it  impossible  to  dispose  of  the  fruit  before  a  con¬ 
siderable  quantity  decays  lie  will  soon  cease  hand¬ 
ling  it.  Where  one  does  not  have  a  local  market 
available  thorough  picking  is  the  only  thing  which 
will  prevent  some  waste  of  fruit.  Careful  super¬ 
vision  of  pickers  is  necessary  to  make  sure  that 
each  one  is  picking  every  fruit  that  is  mature 
enough  to  ship,  yet  is  not  picking  any  specimens  that 
are  too  green. 
RATE  OF  PICKING. — The  rate  at  which  peaches 
may  be  picked  varies  greatly  according  to  the  size 
and  form  of  the  trees,  the  amounts  and  size  of  the 
fruit  and  the  variety.  Where  the  trees  are  allowed 
to  grow  to  a  considerable  height  and  step-ladders 
Homemade  Thrasher  for  Plant  Rows.  Fig.  372 
are  required  the  rate  of  harvesting  is  necessarily 
slow.  With  a  variety  like  Elberta,  producing  large 
fruit  and  maturing  most  of  its  crop  at  once,  rapid 
pickers  may  harvest  as  many  as  100  half-bushel 
baskets  in  a  day  where  most  of  the  fruit  is  harvest¬ 
ed  without  the  use  of  ladders.  A  variety  like 
Champion  matures  its  fruit  over  a  longer  period 
than  Elberta,  and  the  picker  is  required  to  spend 
more  time  in  judging  the  maturity  of  the  individual 
The  Wheel  Hoe  on  Young  Beets.  Fig.  373 
specimens.  From  50  to  60  half-bushel  baskets  a 
day  is  a  fairly  good  average  under  many  orchard 
conditions.  [prof.]  m.  a.  blake. 
N.  J.  Experiment  Station. 
Confessions  of  a  Country  Buyer 
NOT  long  ago  we  had  a  call  from  a  country  buy¬ 
er,  who  came  down  to  look  over  the  auction' 
market.  This  man  was  a  very  shrewd  and  capable 
farmer,  who  had  for  years  been  buying  stock,  atul 
at  times  general  produce,  all  over  bis  home  county. 
It  was  interesting  to  hear  this  man  talk  about 
ilie  way  he  was  able  to  make  good  bargains.  He 
said  the  great  trouble  with  most  farmers  is  that 
they  do  not  know  the  prevailing  prices,  and  thus 
do  not  know  what  their  stock  is  worth.  He  never 
makes  very  much  out  of  a  shrewd,  farsighted  farm¬ 
er  who  is  able  to  inform  himself,  but  his  money 
i«  made  by  dealing  with  another  class,  who  do  not 
know  what  their  stock  is  worth,  and  have  no 
ability  to  conduct  a  trade. 
“When  I  go  out  hunting  calves  or  lambs,”  he 
said,  “I  judge  a  good  deal  by  the  appearance  of  a 
July  15,  1916. 
man’s  farm.  If  everything  is  kept  up  slick  and  neat, 
the  tools  under  cover,  and  the  women  well  satisfied, 
f  know  I  have  a  business  farmer  to  deal  with.  lie 
usually  has  a  telephone  or  takes  a  daily  paper,  and 
watches  the  market,  and  it  will  be  hard  to  fool  him 
on  the  value  of  bis  s-tock.  Then  I  will  come  to  a 
farm  not  looking  as  well.  Things  are  a  little  slack, 
buildings  not  well  painted,  and  there  is  a  general 
appearance  about  the  premises  of  a  man  who  is  not 
up  to  date.  I  find  that  man  probably  down  in  the 
field  looking  over  a  bunch  of  lambs. 
“I  generally  approach  him,  ask  the  time  of  day, 
and  lead  up  to  the  subject.  We  look  the  lambs  over, 
and  I  ask  him  bow  much  are  they  worth.  When  he 
shrugs  bis  shoulders  and  says  ‘I  don’t,  know,  what 
will  you  give?’  I  know  I  am  going  to  make  some 
money  out.  of  that  man.  He  is  not  posted,  doesn’t 
know  the  value  of  bis  own  stock,  and  before  I  get 
done  with  him  I  will  get  it.  out  of  bis  band  for  less 
than  it  is  worth. 
“When  I  go  to  the  other  kind  of  a  farmer,  where 
things  are  kept  up  in  nice  shape,  where  they  take 
a  daily  paper,  and  where  the  women  take  an  active 
interest  in  their  business,  I  have  a  harder  proposi¬ 
tion.  I  ask  the  man  the  same  question — ‘What  are 
your  lambs  worth?’  He  doesn’t  say  ‘I  don’t  know, 
what  will  you  give?’  but  he  names  the  price  quoted 
that  morning  in  the  market.  He  says  his  lambs  are 
a  lit. Me  better  than  the  average,  therefore  he  wants 
more.  I  cannot,  make  a  price  for  such  a  man  as 
that,  but  if  I  want  the  lambs  I  have  got  to  give  full 
value,  because  that  man  is  posted,  knows  what  the 
lambs  are  worth,  and  he  knows  that  in  these  times 
lie  can  get  market  price.” 
That  is  the  whole  story  of  dealing  with  a  farmer. 
Of  course  the  dealer  is  after  all  he  can  get.  and  he 
is  going  to  work  the  price  down  as  low  as  lie  can. 
When  he  strikes  a  man  who  doesn’t  know  values, 
and  is  not  sure  of  himself,  generally,  the  denier  will 
get  away  with  him.  Our  advice  to  a  farmer  would 
he  to  keep  fully  posted  day  by  day,  or  week  by 
week,  with  market  prices,  lie  ought  to  know  what 
is  being  paid  for  stock  or  grain,  and  have  it.  con¬ 
stantly  in  liis  mind.  In  case  he  doesn’t  know  just 
what:  the  stock  is  bringing,  and  a  dealer  comes  along, 
asking  what  he  will  take  for  it.  he  should  say  the 
stock  is  not  for  sale,  and  then  wait  until  he  knows 
what  others  are  paying  before  he  agrees  upon  a 
price.  While  it  is  true  that  prices  are  often  made 
outside  for  farmers,  tlic  trouble  is  that  too  much 
farm  produce  is  sold  below  even  those  prices,  simply 
because  the  farmer  is  not  posted  and  does  not  know 
the  value  of  liis  goods.  First,  of  all,  therefore,  he 
ought  to  know  just  what  liis  stuff  is  worth  to  him. 
Then  make  that  for  a  price,  and  stick  to  it. 
Ridging  Up  in  Potato  Planting 
IN  this  part  of  the  country  the  favorite  method 
of  planting  potatoes  is  to  bury  them ;  when  the 
poor  tilings  begin  to  see  the  light  they  are  buried 
again,  and  often  three  times.  The  surface  has  a 
tendency  to  crust,  and  instetid  of  being  broken  up, 
this  crust  is  covered.  I  have  counted  the  skips  in 
rows,  which  showed  20,  and  even  as  high  as  25  per 
cent,  of  plants  missing,  which  would  mean  one  acre 
in  live  a  loss.  It  cannot  he  laid  to  the  planter,  for 
the  machines  work  with  great  accuracy,  and  I  be¬ 
lieve  it.  due  to  smothering,  I  have  seen  newly 
planted  fields  hilled  so  high  it  seemed  as  if  all  the 
soil  had  been  piled  on  top  of  the  seed,  and  making 
an  excellent  roof  to  shed  rain.  It  seems  to  me  that 
the  crust  should  be  broken,  and  crowded  up  to  the 
row,  and  not  piled  over  the  plants,  for  the  potato 
has  a  broad  leaf,  which  must  lie  hard  to  push  up 
through  the  soil,  even  when  light.  I  should  like  to 
know  if  others  have  thought  of  the  same  thing,  and 
if  this  method  is  common  elsewhere.  Also  if  others 
find  so  many  empty  hills.  geo.  s.  paine. 
Maine. 
R.  N.-Y. — A  good  subject  to  discuss.  In  the  North 
growers  seem  to  have  several  reasons  for  this  hill¬ 
ing  up.  There  is  danger  from  a  late  frost,  and  the 
ridge  over  the  row  will  protect  the  plants.  The 
ri<lge<l-up  soil  is  warmer  and  more  likely  to  dry 
out  in  a  cold  wet  season,  and  the  ridge  gives  a  bet¬ 
ter  chance  to  kill  out  the  early  weeds.  We  have 
planted  with  machines  which  put  a  ridge  over  the 
potatoes  and  as  the  plants  are  ready  to  come 
through  worked  across  with  a  weeder,  thus  break¬ 
ing  the  ridge  down,  then  another  ridge  can  lie 
thrown  up  and  broken  down  once  more  with  the 
weeder,  thus  giving  a  double  working.  We  would 
like  to  hear  from  growers  regarding  this  as  wel1  as 
facts  about  skips  and  misses,  especially  with  the 
mechanical,  one-man  planters. 
Rome  of  our  cover  crops  looked  thin  this  Spring  and 
we  expected  a  sheet.  The  rain  has  thickened  them  iuto 
a  blanket. 
