Vol LXII1 No 2860. 
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 19, 1904. 
$1 PER YEAR. 
GRAPE GROWING IN PENNSYLVANIA . 
Special Care for a Special Crop. 
A GREAT GRAPE SECTION.—North East is sit¬ 
uated near the west end of the Chautauqua grape belt, 
on the shore of Lake Erie, and is an ideal location for 
fruit growing. In the township of North East there 
are upwards of 4,000 acres of bearing vineyards besides 
1.000 or more acres newly set. Every year the acreage 
increases and now it is the leading business of this sec¬ 
tion. There are few of the farmers without a vineyard. 
The vineyards range in size from five to 150 acres each, 
a majority of which are finely kept. The crop of the 
present season is large and of good quality; it is being 
rapidly gathered and sold. The bulk of the crop is 
handled by two shipping companies, besides which there 
are some independent buyers who take from 50 to 100 
cars each. 
PICKING AND PACKING.—Ten years ago the 
grapes were put up in nine-pound baskets, but at present 
fully 40 per cent of the crop is shipped in trays holding 
about 35 pounds each, and the remainder in eight-pound 
baskets. The crop of this township this year will be 
upwards of 1,000 carloads. A carload consists of 3,000 
baskets; if shipped in trays it 
will contain 12 to 14 tons. 
During the past 10 years some 
changes have been made in the 
manner of picking and pack¬ 
ing. Formerly the grapes were 
picked in crates holding about 
20 pounds each, and then taken 
to the packing houses, where 
they were allowed to stand 
from 24 to 48 hours. When 
the stems were somewhat 
wilted they were taken to 
packing tables and nicely 
packed in the baskets. This 
was a very satisfactory way to 
prepare the grapes for market; 
the foreman could see all the 
work at close range, and while grapes brought 
from 15 to 20 cents per basket the grape grower 
could well afford to do it in this manner. But 
when the production increased and the price was 
often as low as eight cents, a cheaper way was 
adopted. The packing is now all done In the field, thus 
saving one handling of the fruit. Light stands holding 
three baskets are used by the packers, and the grapes 
are picked, trimmed and packed directly from the vines. 
The baskets are filled about one-half inch above the rim, 
and when taken to the packing house are allowed to 
stand for 24 hours before covering. Tn this way much 
room is saved in storage and there is less waste. After 
some years of trial it is found that the packers can 
pack fully as many baskets in the field per day as from 
crates in the packing house. The packing is mostly 
done by girls, who come from all directions at the 
beginning of the grape harvest, some coming as far as 
50 miles. The season usually begins about September 
20 , and lasts until November, a period of six weeks. 
Some early grapes are raised, but the main crop con¬ 
sists of Concord, Niagara and Delaware, at least three- 
fourths of which are Concord. 
PRICES this year are quite satisfactory; in baskets 
12 to 14 cents. Bulk grapes per ton sell as follows: 
Concord, $24; Niagara, $35; Delaware, $60. The grape 
crop in this township will bring to the growers about 
$330,000. This, together with other fruits and truck 
farming, will raise the figures to nearly $500,000, a snug 
sum to add to the bank accounts of our fruit growers 
and truck farmers. j. h. reed. 
FIGHTING SCALE IN YOUNG ORCHARD. 
Will you tell the best method to adopt for a small 
orchard, 150 apple trees, 50 pear trees and 50 peach 
trees, to prevent the San Jos6 scale. The R. N.-Y. has 
given much information on the subject, hut there are 
so many new methods and preparations that I am not 
quite sure of the latest and best. I have a kerowater 
sprayer and presume this will answer for applying the 
spray. keadek. 
Professor Slingerland's Advice. 
There is no way surely to prevent an orchard from 
getting infested with the San Jose scale, unless it could 
be isolated several miles from any trace of the insect, 
and no new trees be brought in. If the small orchard 
described is already infested, then we have a different 
question. If it were my orchard, I would throughly 
treat it with the lime-sulphur mixture, preferably very 
early in the Spring, and surely at some time during the 
dormant period of the trees. I believe the lime-sulphur 
mixture, properly made, is the safest thing we have for 
this insect, and when the application is thoroughly made 
GRAPE CULTURE AT NORTH EAST, PA. Pig. 378. 
it is as effective as anything else. The results of recent 
work at the Geneva Experiment Station indicate that 
the lime-sulphur, or the lime-sulphur-salt, or the lime- 
sulphur-caustic soda preparations are all equally effective 
against the scale. The best methods of preparing these 
different washes are given in-Bulletin 254, recently issued 
from the Geneva (N. Y.) Experiment Station. 
Yes, the kerowater spray pump can be used in apply¬ 
ing the lime-sulphur washes by disconnecting the oil 
part. It would probably be safe also to use this pump 
in spraying crude petroleum on to the apple and pear 
trees for the scale, using about 30 to 40 per cent of 
the oil, and applying it early in the Spring before 
growth starts. As these oil and water spray pumps are 
oftentimes unreliable in regard to the amount of oil 
scheduled to be used. 1 would hesitate to use them in 
spraying peach trees. I read with some surprise the 
rather discouraging results from the use of the lime- 
sulphur washes on The R. N.-Y.’s experiment grounds, 
because practically all experiment stations which have 
carefully tested these washes report very favorably. 
Lime and Sulphur, Says J. H. Hale. 
Lime and sulphur is surest and best I know, and as 
yet I fail to hear of anything better. It needs a thorough 
boiling, and then thorough spraying all over a tree to be 
effective. I wenty pounds best lime dumped into boiling 
water will generate a heat that will generally melt down 
15 pounds sulphur flour. That should be dumped right 
in after the lime. Then by steam or fire keep this mass 
boiling 30 to 40 minutes; add water to make 50 gallons; 
15 pounds salt (to make the mass stick to the trees 
longer), and you have the best lime-sulphur mixture 
that can be made. I have used over 500 barrels of sul¬ 
phur the past year, so have had a little experience in 
this matter. 
Connecticut. j. h. hale. 
Try Limoid and Kerosene and Prune. 
If the San Jose scale is already at work on the trees 
I should head back and thin out the tops quite severely 
and spray at once with 20-per-cent kerosene-Iimoid mix¬ 
ture, repeating this treatment in two or three weeks. 
(Directions for making this mixture are given on page 
<32 of T he R. N.-Y.) If the owner prefers kerosene 
emulsion to the kerosene-Iimoid mixture, he can apply 
a 20-per-cent solution of it immediately, and follow in 
two or three weeks with another application. If, how¬ 
ever, he favors the lime-sulphur-salt wash, he would 
better wait until Feb- 
' ruary or March to apply 
it, for serious fruit bud 
injury is likely to follow 
its use in Autumn or 
early Winter. By remov¬ 
ing the oil tank from 
the kerowater sprayer it 
can be used as an ordi¬ 
nary spray pump. I 
would not risk using the 
mechanical mixture of 
kerosene and water be¬ 
cause it is next to im¬ 
possible to obtain a con¬ 
stant percentage of kero¬ 
sene and serious injury 
to the trees may result. 
Heading back the tops reduces the height of the trees 
and the amount of limb surface and small twigs to be 
covered with the spray, thus simplifying matters. In do¬ 
ing the pruning the tops should not be sheared as a 
hedge is trimmed, but the leading and long limbs should 
be cut off just above a side branch so the wound can be 
healed by the elaborated sap from that branch. The 
leading shoot of side branches should be handled in the 
same way. If the owner is not sure that the orchard is 
infested with the scale and is not familiar with this 
insect, he would better apply to his State experiment 
station or State nursery and orchard inspector for 
assistance in examining the trees. Failing in this he 
should examine the trees carefully himself and if any 
unnatural, ashy gray roughness is found on the bark 
he should send samples at once for identification to the 
experiment station of his State. If it proves to be San 
Jose scale he should follow the directions for spraying 
given above. c. p. close, 
Delaware Exp. Station. 
R. N.-Y.—Many experiments are being made with 
limoid and kerosene. The limoid contains 30 to 40 
per cent of magnesia. It is thought that this magnesia 
takes up most of the kerosene and holds it on the tree 
against the scale better than would be done in a mix¬ 
ture with water or in the form of kerosene emulsion. 
We do not think ordinary lime will answer. It is not 
likely that any chemical action takes place when the 
limoid and kerosene are mixed, but the magnesia evi¬ 
dently does most of the holding. We think this new 
mixture is well worth trying. 
