1904 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
i9 
PACKING FRUIT IN CALIFORNIA. 
It is a wondei’ to many people how California fruit 
growers can ship their fruit 3,000 miles to market at 
a heavy expense and still sell it at a profit. There 
are some reasons for it that every fruit grower should 
understand. Nothing but good fruit is sent—hand¬ 
some, clean and of good size. The packages are neat 
and easy to handle and the packing is tasty and uni¬ 
form. When you open a box of Califoi'nia fruit you 
know just what you will find. Suppose this fruit 
came from California in old flour barrels or boxes of 
all sizes and shapes, good and bad, lai’ge and small 
dumped in together without system! It would not 
bring enough to pay freight or express. Of all the 
fruit that comes from the Pacific coast probably the 
cherry affords the best chance for artistic display. 
The pictures shown on this page were sent by our 
old friend H. G. Keesling, of Santa Clara Co. They 
show a finished box and a scene in the packing house. 
To show how much depends on accurate packing we 
quote from Mr. Keesling’s letter: 
“I will say here that first-class cherry packers are 
not more plentiful than first-class help of other kinds, 
and when we have a lai’ge crop to handle it requires 
the closest attention to insure good packing. How¬ 
ever, after about 15 years’ expei’ience I am still learn¬ 
ing and hope next season to do better work than ever 
befoi’e. If I could call together in cherry time a large 
number of girls who could do as good packing as my 
wife and daughter and a few others I would be will¬ 
ing to plant cherries to the limit of the amount that 
could be packed, but as conditions are we hesitate 
knowing from experience that poor packing is disas¬ 
trous to the shipper, be he grower or buyer.” 
We have often spoken of the low quality of much 
California fruit in this market. In order to show that 
California can produce high flavor Mr. Keesling sent 
us a box of Black Tartarian cherries which were ripe 
when packed. They were excellent and came in fine 
condition. 
Mice in an Apple Orchard.' 
On page 871, last volume, a correspondent asks if 
ydu think mice will gnaw young trees in Winter 
where a good growth of Crimson clover is left on the 
ground. In 1867 I purchased a farm adjoining my 
present home. On it was an apple orchard of several 
hundi’ed trees just coming into bearing. The Fall 
previous large second growth of Red clover was 
allowed to go down in this orchard, the clover com¬ 
ing up close to the trees. After my purchase I was 
looking through this orchard, and hap¬ 
pened to notice close down in the 
clover that a tree seemed to be gnaw¬ 
ed. Upon examination it was found 
that the tree was nearly girdled by 
field mice. Looking farther it was 
found that many trees had been serv¬ 
ed in the same way. In some cases a 
band of bark had been eaten off from 
four to six inches wide, sometimes 
reaching nearly around. In one case 
all the bark was gone clear around, 
cambium and all. The wounds had 
been made long enough so that 
they looked dry and brown, but the 
trees had not yet commenced to leaf 
out. Scions were at once cut that were 
a little longer than Hie wounds were 
wide; then both ends of the scions 
were whittled to thin wedges, and a 
knife blade was inserted under the 
bark above and below the wounds. 
The scion was forced into the place 
above, then sprung out in the center 
so as to let the bottom wedge around 
into place. Eight or 10 of these were 
put into a tree if the wound was large 
and a less number for smaller wounds. 
Then earth was hauled up over the 
wounds and that was all that was 
done. Every tree lived and made fan- 
growth, even the one that was completely girdled. 
From that time to this those trees have continued to 
bear good crops of nice apples, by spraying twice each 
year with the Bordeaux and Paris-green. Those 
scions grew until they touched each other clear 
around the trees, and crowded so closely that in a 
few years you would never have known that any¬ 
thing had happened, had it not been for the uniform 
ridgy appearance of the bark. This experience was 
given in the New York Tribune for May 20, 1879. Con¬ 
clusion, do not leave clover around apple trees dur¬ 
ing Winter. If you do get caught proceed at once to 
bridge the wounds with scions. w. s. 
R- N.-Y.—We should expect this result with second- 
growth Red clover lying close to the trees. Such dry 
clover acts just like a mulch, and the mice work un¬ 
der it. It is different with Crimson clover, which 
lives and keeps quite green through the Winter. If 
in the Fall a few spadefuls of dirt had been thrown 
around each tree, and the clover pushed away, the 
mice would have done little damage. 
Leaves That Stay on Late. 
I note the discussion in your paper on the question 
whether it is desirable that trees hold their leaves 
long in the Fall. Twenty years ago, while studying 
at the University of Wisconsin, I made nearly 1,000 
microscopic examinations of the twigs of apple trees, 
in Fall and Spring, and made quite full notes of facts 
existing, and the condition of the several trees from 
which my specimens were taken. I was then a care¬ 
ful observer, but too young to generalize on the ob¬ 
served facts. Since that time I have been busy in 
other lines, but have most of the time lived among 
fruit trees and have, several times, re-read my notes 
in the light of later observations, and I believe the 
following to be true: 
Deciduous trees drop their leaves because the leaves 
are no longer of use to the trees. Either frost de¬ 
stroys their usefulness, or they have so filled the 
BOXES OF CALIFORNIA CHERRIES. Fig. 8. 
storage tissues of the tree with starch (ripened the 
wood, if you please to call it so), that there is no more 
room to store food, for the next year’s growth and 
fruit. The fact that a tree holds its leaves late, 
whether new wood growth is being made or not, in¬ 
dicates that the storage tissues are not yet full of 
starch. If no new wood is being made, the fact of 
holding leaves late is a favorable condition, if new 
wood growth is being made the sign is bad. On the 
other hand, dropping the leaves early, provided the 
growth of new wood for the year has been moderate, 
and the foliage was healthy is not an unfavorable 
sign. This year I have three plum trees of the same 
variety and age. One is in sod, has made but shoi’t 
wood growth, but the foliage appeared healthy and 
abundant. Its foliage was dropped early. The other 
three trees wex-e cultivated, made long, new growth 
of wood, and did not drop their leaves until frost kill¬ 
ed them. I believe the one tree in sod goes into the 
Winter better prepared to withstand unfavorable 
weather conditions than do the other three. I now 
have no microscope at hand, but should expect that 
under one the twigs of the one tree would show all 
of the storage cells full of starch, and packed almost 
to bursting, while the ocher trees would show the 
stoi’age cells but modei’ately full. From past obser¬ 
vation I expect a large setting of fruit on the tree that 
dropped its leaves early, and but a moderate setting 
on the other three trees. More work should be done 
in the line of microscopic examinations of storage 
tissues of fruit trees and plants in connection with 
the conditions of the trees and plants in respect to 
leaf growth, wood growth, fruitfulness, disease, sea¬ 
son and environment. Some of our experiment-sta¬ 
tion observers should take up this field of inquiry, 
carry it on for a series of years, and get together 
enough facts safely to generalize upon. I believe rich 
rewards will come from such inquiries. b. h. v. 
Grand Rapids, Wis. 
AN UP TO DATE STOCK FARM. 
Value of a Prepotent Bull. 
Gedney Farm is located in Westchester County, 
N. Y., a short distance from White Plains. The 
owner, Howard Willets, is interested in high-clas:s 
live stock, especially horses and Jersey cattle. He is 
an annual exhibitor in various horse shows, and the 
owner of a number of prize winners. 
The head of the Jersey herd is Briarcliff Beau 
57176, dropped August 12, 1899. His sire was Jersey 
Beau, imported, dam Fortune Bluff 11077. He is a 
large handsome animal, possessing the element of 
prepotency so essential to constitute a high-class sire. 
Thus his strongest endorsement is his get, which re¬ 
semble him closely. Two of his calves, Gedney Farm 
Belle and Gedney Farm Beauty, are shown on first 
page, Fig. 6. They are the ohspring of cows of dif¬ 
ferent types, but are about as nearly alike as twins, 
and have the characteristic color and conformation of 
(he sire. One of his stable neighbors is Benwillew’s 
Stoke Pogis 64604, a promising yearling who has won 
five first premiums at fairs. 
Most dairymen who have attempted to develop a 
good dairy herd by using a purebred bull with ordi¬ 
nary cows will appreciate the value of a sire like 
Briarcliff Beau. We have seen such herds where the 
heifers, though half sistex-s, were unlike both in ap¬ 
pearance and habit, and made a badly mixed lot. The 
trouble was that the bull, though “purebred,” was not 
prepotent enough—that is, not so strongly bred on 
both sides that his calves were sure to resemble him. 
When the ancestors of an animal have been for many 
generations selected with some definite color, shape 
and character in view the offspring of that animal 
will be quite sure to resemble him. This is one of the 
most important truths in animal breeding, and is of 
most importance to the man who with a mixed herd 
of cows uses a purebred bull for the “better half.” 
Probably the best cow in the herd is Briarcliff 
Dolly. She has made 640 pounds of butter in a year, 
is of a light fawn color and has the extreme dairy 
type. Next comes Emma of Guilford, winner of first 
prize at Vermont State Fair for five 
years, being beaten last Fall by Briar¬ 
cliff Dolly, mentioned above. Emma 
of Guilford is a large cow, rather light 
color, with apparently little of the wild 
and scary nature characteristic of so 
many Jerseys and Guernseys. 
The group of nine imported Jerseys 
bought at one of the Ward sales the 
past season made a fine addition to the 
herd. The best of this lot is Brune 
Fleur 177535, an eight-year-old, solid 
color except white speck on belly, black 
tongue and switch. She is a low-set, 
deep-bodied cow, with straight back, 
sharp withers, broad hips, very large 
udder and good teats. The other indi¬ 
viduals of this imported lot are as fine 
a bunch of young animals as we have 
seen together. They are Humming 
Dew 177543, June Girl of Jersey 177562. 
Mayflower’s Last 177556, Maitland's 
Golden 177572, Miss Sophie 177542, Girl 
of the Island 177564, Lilac of the Island 
177567, and Lizzie Belle of Jersey 
177546. Considerable is being done in 
poultry at this farm, chiefly Black 
Minorca and White Wyandotte, and 
many choice birds are seen. The fowls 
have the run of large wire-netted 
yards, and the houses are ingeni¬ 
ously planned, so as to combine cleanliness, com- 
is now under way. 
A PICTURESQUE FARM HOME.—The house in 
Wayne Co., N. Y., shown in Fig. 7, is an example of 
the decorative effect produced by a few well-arranged 
handy vines. There is ample choice of material for 
such use, whether the demand is for flowering vines 
or for foliage only, and the expense of starting is not 
great. Honeysuckle is always satisfactory, and Wis¬ 
taria, trumpet vine, Clematis and Akebia, all familiar 
and tested, possess special value for special condi¬ 
tions. A house devoid of such planting looks very 
bleak and desolate when compared with such a pic¬ 
ture as the verdure-clad home In Fig. 7. 
The vagrant dog got another whack in those sheep- 
bell articles on page 879. When shall we be sufficiently 
civilized to realize that one profit-giving sheep is worth 
a wilderness of profit-eating dogs? 
PACKING CHERRIES IN CALIFORNIA. Fie. 9. 
