1028 
Z>he  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
July  29,  1910. 
EdHSUjad  Wilsor* 
Commercial  Fruit  Culture 
Picking,  Packing  and  Shipping  Peaches 
Part  III. 
Packages  For  Peaches. — Peaches  are 
sold  in  many  different  kinds  of  packages 
but  in  the  Eastern  Atlantic  States  the 
bulk  of  the  crop  is  sold  in  the  10-quai't 
peach  basket  and  its  modified  forms  or 
in  the  Georgia  carrier.  The  Jersey  or 
Delaware  16-quart  basket  was  almost  the 
universal  shipping  package  for  a  time 
in  the  Middle  Atlantic  States,  It  is 
cheap,  of  a  good  size,  nests  together  well 
when  empty  and  is  fairly  satisfactory  for 
shipment  by  rail.  In  recent  years,  the 
Georgia  carrier  has  rapidly  become  the 
popular  package  for  the  shipment  of 
fancy  peaches  to  the  large  wholesale  mar¬ 
kets.  The  fruit  ships  better  in  the  car¬ 
rier  and  makes  a  better  appearance  in 
the  market.  The  faults  of  the  baskets 
are  that  they  are  easily  tipped  over,  do 
not  load  'and  wtadk  as  compactly  in 
wagons,  trucks  or  cars  and  the  fruit  is 
more  likely  to  become  bruised.  The  bas¬ 
kets  cost  about  six  to  eight  cents  each 
including  a  good  wooden  cover. 
Covers. — Blit-lap  covers  were  formerly 
used  to  a  considerable  extent  but  it  is 
certainly  bad  practice.  They  do  not  pro¬ 
tect.  the  fruit  from  pressure  and  bruises 
and  make  the  baskets  look  rough  and 
unattractive.  White,  cotton  cloth  covers 
are  more  atraetivc  than  the  burlap,  but 
do  not  offer  any  better  protection  to  the 
fruit.  Rod  or  pink  netting  covers  are 
•much  more  attractive  than  either  tin* 
burlap  or  the  cotton  ones  and  their  use 
can  be  strongly  recommended  for  all  lo¬ 
cal  sales  of  fruit  where  it  is  hauled  to 
market  in  baskets.  The  netting  prevents 
flies  and  wasps  from  reaching  the  fruit 
besides  making  the  package  look  neat  and 
attractive.  Where  shipments  are  made 
by  rail  one  of  the  wooden  types  of  covers 
should  always  be  used.  Sixteen  quarts 
of  peaches  should  weigh  about  24  pounds. 
In  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  a 
20-quart  basket  quite  similar  in  shape  to 
the  common  peach  basket  is  frequently 
used  for  local  sales  of  peaches. 
Tiie  Six-uaskkt  Crate. — The  Georgia 
carrier  consists  of  a  crate  22x11x10% 
inches  inside  measure  and  holds  six  till 
baskets  each  having  a  capacity  of  four 
quarts.  Tills  are  made  with  either  square 
which  is  the  better  package,  the  crate  or 
the  basket?  It  largely  depends  upon  the 
market  to  he  suplied,  the  quality  and 
quantity  of  fruit  to  be  shipped  and  the 
available  labor.  Fancy  peaches  gener¬ 
ally  sell  at  a  premium  in  carriers  over 
baskets  in  the  large  city  markets.  In 
the  smaller  cities  and  towns  the  prices 
paid  for  peaches  in  baskets  is  propor¬ 
tionately  equal  to  that  paid  for  the  fruit 
in  carriers. 
Packing  Carriers. — The  packing  of 
the  carrier  appears  rather  difficult  at  first 
and  it  cannot  be  economically  done  un¬ 
less  a  proper  packing  table  is  provided. 
When  one  becomes  acquainted  with  the 
St  •*'  A 
Types  of  Basket  Covers.  Fig.  408 
different  packs  and  the  system  of  packing 
however  the  fruit  can  be  placed  in  the 
carriers  very  rapidly.  It  requires  a  bet¬ 
ter  organized  force  of  labor  to  get  off  a 
good  shipment  of  peaches  in  carriers  than 
it  does  in  baskets  as  the  latter  are  com¬ 
monly  packed.  Some  growers  pack  bas¬ 
kets  as  thoroughly  as  crates  are  ever 
packed  and  examine  each  individual  fruit. 
Where  such  special  attention  is  given,  as 
much  time  is  required  as  for  packing 
crates.  The  following  points  should  be 
kept  in  mind  in  deciding  as  to  what  pack¬ 
age  to  use.  If  one  is  short  of  labor  or 
if  it  is  inexperienced  and  a  quantity  of 
fruit  is  ripening  it  can  be  moved  faster 
in  baskets  than  in  crates.  When  crates 
Dirty,  broken,  second-hand  peach  crates  should  riot  be  used.  Fig.  407 
or  rounded  comers,  the  latter  generally 
being  somewhat  less  subject  to  breakage. 
The  empty  crates  weigh  about  nine  to  10 
pounds  each,  and,  when  properly  packed 
with  peaches,  40  to  40  pounds  each. 
New  crates  can  he  purchased  in  ear  lots 
for  about  14  to  10  cents  each  freight  paid. 
New  Crates  Preferable.  —  Second¬ 
hand  peach  crates  are  used  in  large 
quantities  by  some  growers.  If  tin*  pack¬ 
ages  have  been  well  cared  for,  are  clean, 
and  tire  relabelled  by  the  grower  they  are 
quite  presentable  in  appearance.  How¬ 
ever,  one  too  frequently  sees  good  peaches 
sent  to  market,  in  an  old,  battered  tomato 
crate  with  the  tomato  label  still  attached. 
This  is  not  good  business  and  injures  the 
rating  of  the  grower.  New,  clean  crates 
are  much  to  he  preferred  to  second-hand 
ones  even  though  they  cost  somewhat 
more.  A  three-penny  common  pail  of  14 
gauge  wire  is  a  good  size  to  use  in  nail¬ 
ing  crates  together  and  one  pound  of 
these  should  be  sufficient  for  at  least  IS 
crates. 
Market  Requirements. — A  very  com 
inou  question  asked  by  peach  growers  is 
are  to  be  tried  for  the  first  time  they 
should  be  used  for  the  early  peaches  to 
give  the  packers  experience-  so  when  the 
bulk  of  the  crop  ripens  they  can  pack  it 
rapidly.  M.  A.  blake. 
Handling  Liquid  Manure 
Are  there  any  generally  recognized  de¬ 
vices  fur  the  application  of  liquid  ma¬ 
nure?  My  pits  have  all  been  built  so  as 
to  drain  into  the  cesspool,  but  1  have  yet 
to  find  a  satisfactory  device  for  the 
proper  distribution  of  same.  M.  M. 
Orangeburg,  N.  Y. 
There  nrc  two  ways  of  making  use  of 
this  liquid  manure  from  the  cistern.  One 
is  to  pile  the  solid  manure  in  a  compost, 
heap  not  far  from  the  cistern,  and  use  a 
good  deal  of  bedding  or  coarse  material 
in  making  up  the  pile.  Then  from  time 
to  time  pump  the  liquids  out  of  the  cis¬ 
tern  over  this  manure  pile  and  let  them 
soak  through.  Then  when  the  manure  is 
applied,  of  course  the  liquids  go  with  it. 
The  other  plan  is  to  apply  the  liquids  di¬ 
rect,  usually  as  a  top-dressing  on  grass  or 
grain.  A  tank  on  wheels,  very  much 
like  a  sprinkling  curt,  used  on  the  street, 
is  used  for  this  purpose,  Several  of  the 
wagon  manufacturers  make  such  a  cart. 
In  other  cases  barrels  or  hogsheads  are 
put  into  the  body  of  an  ordinary  wagon. 
A  hole  is  bored  at  the  bottom  of  the  bar¬ 
rel  and  filled  in  with  a  wooden  plug. 
The  liquids  are  pumped  into  these  bar¬ 
rels  and  taken  out  to  the  field.  There  the 
plugs  are  pulled  out,  and  the  wagon 
driven  across  the  field.  The  liquids  run 
out  through  the  cracks  or  at  the  back  of 
the  wagon  body  and  are  thus  spread. 
There  are  other  crude  devices  some  of 
them  homemade,  for  handling  the  liquids, 
but  the  general  plan  is,  when  they  are 
used  alone,  to  imitate  as  nearly  as  possi¬ 
ble,  the  sprinkling  curt  so  frequently  used 
for  street  or  road  work. 
Sweet  Clover  Seed 
Sweet  clover  is  now  being  grown  by  so 
many  farmers  and  in  so  many  different 
localities,  that  we  are  learning  much 
more  about  this  crop  than  was  known 
only  a  few  years  ago.  Mr.  Hloomiag- 
dale,  on  page  016,  advises  sowing  only 
between  December  1st  and  March  1st, 
using  25  pounds  of  uuhulled  seed.  Since 
I  lie  use  of  the  Ames  scarifier  has  be¬ 
come  general,  Sweet  clover  can  be  sown 
successfully  in  late  Spring,  Summer  and 
early  Fall,  but  in  the  most  Northern 
States,  not  later  than  August.  Ten 
pounds  of  scarified  seed  will  give  a  good 
stand,  and  furnishes  70  seeds  to  the 
square  foot.  Seven  plants  of  Sweet 
clover  to  the  square  foot  makes  a  thick 
stand,  and  when  grown  for  seed,  it  is  bet¬ 
ter  to  have  one  plant  to  the  square  yard. 
We  know  of  settlings  in  the  Summer  of 
1015  at  the  rate  of  five  pounds  of  scari¬ 
fied  seed  giving  perfect  stands.  It  is  true 
the  unhulled  seed  ought  to  be  sown  only 
in  Winter  and  early  Spring,  so  that  the 
rains  and  alternate  freezing  and  thawing 
will  prepare  the  seed  for  germination 
with  the  advent  of  growing  weather. 
The  cleaner  the  fields  the  purer  the 
seed  will  be ;  but  modern  seed-cleaning 
machinery  will  remove  almost  all  weed 
seeds  and  those  not  easily  removed  by 
machinery  ought  to  be  weeded  out  in  the 
field.  Only  a  few  kinds  of  weeds  arc  able 
to  survive  a  good  stand  of  Sweet  clover 
the  second  year  when  it  produces  seed, 
as  it  is  a  good  “smother  crop”  and,  in 
this  way,  does  most  of  its  own  “weeding” 
in  an  effective  manner.  e.  e.  barton. 
Pendleton  Go.,  ICy. 
When  you  write  advertisers  mention 
The  Rural  New-Yorker  and  you’ll  ttet 
a  quick  reply  and  a  “square  deal.”  See 
guarantee  editorial  page. 
SILO  FILLERS 
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cbEincS.  o o«l  then  wntchrefUilta.  THE  ENGINE  WILL  DO  IT’S 
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it  now  todiiy. 
r.  consolidated  gasoline  engine  co. 
202  Fulton  Street _ .  .  .  New  York  City 
ALFALFA 
AMERICAN  NORTHERN  GROWN 
Our  Fall  Book  tolls  how  to  succeed  growing 
Alfalfa  on  any  soil  or  climate  cast  of  the  Mis¬ 
souri  River;  how  to  sow;  how  to  harvest;  what 
to  do  To  retain  a  perfect  meadow.  Wo  refuse 
to  handle  Turkestan  or  “Dwarf  Alfalfa.”  our 
seed  is  all  American  grown,  guaranteed  99% 
pure.  Wo  can  furnish  Nebraska,  Idaho  or  Utah 
and  Grimm  seed  at  very  moderate  prices. 
FSIIflyR  fllPSIFI  We  have  the  Genuine 
unimm  HLrni.r«  Grimm  ns  well  as  Han¬ 
sen's  great  now  Siberian  varieties.  Samples 
and  prices  upon  request. 
W?NGSEEDCO*,Box223  ,MechanIcsburg,0. 
jPh  FR  K!  fN»rv68ter  niteand  thrown  in  pile  on 
B  ■  ■  ■  U  Kcl  linrv osier  or  windrows.  Man  and 
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A#  IIIV  Biinlrr,  Solti  in  every  Male.  1’iiie 
only  $22.00  with  fodder  binder.  Tes- 
limnnials  Hint  catalog  FREE  showing  picture  o'  llni-vester, 
PROCESS  MFG.  CO, ,  Dopt.  279  Salina.  Kan&as 
Cabbage,  Beets,  Celery  Plants  '^Tooi  % o 
per  10,000.  Tomato  1‘latm— $1.50  per  J, 000.  Sweet 
Potato  and  POP  per  Plants— $  I,  "ill  per  ],ou().  Cauli- 
tlow  ur  Plants— $2.50  per  1,000.  J.  C.  SCHMIUT.  Btistol.  Pa. 
WHEAT  GROWERS 
Xotjgotting  host  rosnlts  should  sow  one  of  the 
‘  HOFFMAN  SEFR  WHEATS."  Six  kinds -reliable, 
hardy,  prolillc.— varieties  that  will  thrive  under 
trying  conditions.  Graded— clean  of  rye,  bookie, 
cheat,  garlic,  smut.  PRICES  ARE  JUST 
Catalniiuca  ami  samples— both  free,  if  you 
tell  where  you  now  thin  ojfer. 
A.  H.  HOFFMAN,  Inc.,  Landisville,  Pa.  | 
RINT1FR  TWINE  rarmw  agents  wanted. 
oiNucn  i  nine  fU.,  C)Ur  S!in®,  ,„s  an(1  prices. 
Til  fit).  itUKT  &  SONS  -  Melrose,  Ohio 
“The  Joynt  Brand”  Pure  Un leached  Hardwood  Ashes 
The  host  Potash  fertilizer.  The  best,  cheapest  and 
most  lasting  fertilizer.  They  solve  the  fertilizer 
problem.  Correspondence  invited.  References, 
Dunn’-  orBradStreufc’s  or  Bank  of  Hamilton,  Luck* 
now, (Jut.  Aildress,  JOHN  JOYNT.  Lucknow  Out.,  tail, ula 
VEGETABLE  PLANTS 
I  By  Mad  or  Expr^^s  Prepaid.  Lending  rnrlnflf.*  rilUUGi:.  TIIL- 
LltV.  l  llll, Il  f, OYYKR  PUNTS.  Lingo  or  miidII  folit  at  rviiMoii- 
aliJi*  prlfpft,  I  lf*t  cltiAH  jtlimfx  and  nitlo  rl«<ll«i*ry  gu.i m ufecil 
STRAWBERRY  PLANTS 
ior  Ah£u*1  mid  Full  |il)intln(r.  Knutier  and  Pet- grown  plants 
Unit  u  ill  linin' triilt  next  m miner,  Ainu  IMHt'lSEUlCY,  11  LA  rK- 
liLUItY  I’Lt.VIH,  I  K!' IT  TIlI  JiM.  IIK.V  ASIE.VLiL  TREES. 
SIIKI  118.  Catalogue  / rn\ 
Harry  L»  Squires,  Remsenburg,  N.  Y. 
Celery  Plants  VooV-  Cabbage  Plants 
SI  per  1,000  All  kinds  of  Kadi.  Nice,  stocky  plants 
and  Plenty  of  them,  RGMAVOK  NKEIJ  AND 
PLANT  FA  KM.  C.  BOGGS  «  SON,  Cheswold  Delaware 
s  W  E  ET  Builds  Worn  Out  Soil.  Has 
_  .  "  _  _  __  _  I'ichor  protein  content  tlmn  >1  fulfil. 
|  gN  \  /  ET  D  Write  for  prices  nil' I  information. 
^  "■  ”  "  rC  E.  Barton,  Box  29,  Falmouth,  Ky. 
Russian  Pilhic  Rub  Rank  grower.  Great  yieldor. 
nubbidnriiKUsnye  S].;!u  giMC  f,,,.  orchard 
cover.  (7.01  ElfOALE  1A  UAI.Clin rlotl  o.JS.Y . 
Are  as  large  as  small  oranges.  This  and  the  three  other  Van  Fleet  hybrid 
strawberries  arc  marvels  in  size,  beauty  and  productiveness,  with  the  true 
wild  strawberry  flavor. They  cover  the  wholeseason,  from  earliest  till  latest 
Lovett’s  Pot  Grown  Strawberry  Plants 
Planted  in  sunmict  or  an  I  man.  produce  a  crop  of  berries  the  following  Jane.  My  booklet  on  Pot  Grown 
Strawberries  lolls  nil  about  them;  how  to  prepare,  the  ground,  and  cultivate.  II  shows  the  “Edmund  Wilson” 
in  natural  rue  and  color,  and  accurately  describes  with  truthful  illustrations  the  Van  Elect  hybrids-  anil  a 
score  of  other  claiU'c  varieties,  including  tin- best  Everbearing  Strawberries.  IT’S  FREE.  11  you  would 
luve  b i g ge i  and  better  Strawberries  than  you  have  ever  had  before,  plant  Van  Fleet  Hybrids. 
a  Struwl  erry  Spvctallit  J.  T.  LOVETT,  Box  162,  LITTLE  SILVER,  N.  J. 
Agriculture — Home  Economics 
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