773 
1909. 
NEW YORK FRUIT GROWERS MEET. 
A Summer meeting of the N. Y. State Fmit Growers’ 
Association was held at Olcott Beach, N. Y., Aug. 6-7, 
1909. It was yvell attended and a great success. The 
host feature of these Summer meetings is the trips into 
ihe orchards, and Olcott Beach is ideal in location as a 
starting point for these trips. From the hall in which 
the meeting was held all that could be seen toward the 
north was miles and miles of the fresh water of Lake 
Ontario, almost as still during the days of the meeting 
as the surface of a millpond. It is this vast body of 
water, taking as it does the chill from the prevailing 
winds, that gives this section its reputation for fruitful¬ 
ness and a peach belt that is about as certain of a crop 
as any section of the country. The fact that the 
N. Y. Central Railroad has made preparations to carry 
2,000 cars of peaches over their It.. W. & O. division, 
drawing from a narrow strip extending from Oswego to 
Lewiston, will dispel any doubts as to this being a genu¬ 
ine peach belt. 
The meeting was called to order Friday afternoon by 
President Case, and he made a few remarks on packing 
and marketing. lie said Western New York was not 
alone with her big peach crop. Connecticut has the 
largest crop ever grown in that State. The Hudson 
Valley has a good crop, Michigan nearly a full crop, 
though acreage^is only about half what it was before the 
hi"' freeze, and Northern Ohio has a big crop. Ail these 
sections market the bulk of their crop in September, but 
there is a place for all of them if graded honestly and 
distributed properly. The greatest thing for the fruit 
interests is' to observe the Golden Rule in packing. He 
had found it was more to the grower's interests to work 
with the railroads than against them. The railroads tire 
now employing transportation experts to learn the wants 
of shippers and plan the most efficient service possible. 
This may all be true for the carload shipper or in sec- 
lions that make a specialty of some product where train¬ 
loads can be made up at a few towns and where the 
growers are perfectly satisfied with the rates. It seems 
to us these transportation experts would do well to find 
out just why a carload of peaches worth one-third as 
much as a carload of live stock should haye a freight 
rate three times as great for being drawn the same dis¬ 
tance, between the same points, over the same road, in 
the same time and in the same train. If it doesn't take 
them too long to find this out they may b,e able to look 
into the case of the small shipper and find out what pro¬ 
portion of the selling price he gets to pay for packing, 
harvesting and producing. 
C. E. Bassett, of Fennville, Mich., told of Michigan 
conditions and gave his ideas on several subjects relating 
to future fruit interests, lie said peach conditions were 
somewhat different than before the freeze, as one-half the 
acreage had been wiped out. The remainder carries a 
good crop this year. Apples are a fair crop and of fair 
quality. Some orchards have already been sold for $1.75 
per barrel on the tree. Most expect at least $2 pet- 
barrel sold in this way. The grower and buyer agree on 
an estimate for the crop and the buyer pays a big de¬ 
posit on this estimate. The final settlement is made by 
actual measure after crop is harvested. If the buyer for 
any reason changes his mind he forfeits the deposit. 
Buyer does picking and packing, takes both No. 1 and 
No. 2 fruit and furnishes barrels. The grower draws emp. 
ties and delivers packed apples to the cars. The buyer 
stands all risk from wind or other causes after contract 
is made. Methods must change to meet changed condi¬ 
tions. The products from the West are changing condi¬ 
tions, and to be successful we must meet them with im¬ 
proved methods. Methods can be altered in the East so as 
to obtain higher color in apples. Pruning is the secret 
of obtaining highly colored fruit. Growers have been in 
the forestry business rather than in fruit growing. Thin¬ 
ning should be practiced with apples, and the cheapest 
way to do most of the thinning is with the pruning 
shears. If it pays to thin peaches what horticultural law 
says it doesn’t pay to thin apples? The banana and 
orange business has jumped ahead with rapid transporta¬ 
tion and good business methods in packing and distrib¬ 
uting. Quality in these fruits is almost always uniform, 
and the cost of packing and transportation makes it un¬ 
profitable to ship inferior fruit. Apple growers do not 
prune half enough. There should be an annual pruning; 
training the tree to let in an abundance of sunlight and 
thinning the bearing wood, which is the cheapest way of 
thinning the fruit. Quality in perishable fruits for dis¬ 
tant markets does not mean the same as quality for the 
home table. A fair quality peach that will reach the 
market in prime condition is really better quality for the 
distant market than a high quality peach that reaches 
the market half decayed. A buyer knows just what he 
is getting in a box of oranges or in a box of Pacific 
Coast applies from the brand on the package. Grow 
the finest fruit by improving methods and tljen pack to 
grade under a guarantee. If we will do this and sup¬ 
port national legislation to prevent dishonest packing we 
will have no trouble in holding our own. 
In answer to a few questions the following was brought 
out. Borers are not as bad in peaches grown on clay 
ground as on sandy or gravelly soil. Law compels the 
removal of peach trees affected by yellows and little 
peach in Michigan. The extermination plan of com¬ 
bating these diseases is the only successful one. ft is 
safe to set young trees in the vacancies left by removing 
diseased trees. Fill the holes with fresh earth the Fall 
previous and set trees in the Spring. In pruning the 
peach keep the heads low and open. 
T. II. Todd of Missouri spoke against the Lafean Pack¬ 
age Bill, but found very few- sympathizers. His argu¬ 
ments appeared weak as the using of the National brand 
is not compulsory, and if used will not detract from a 
private brand already established. The law will, how- 
over. put a stop to the use of short packages in inter¬ 
state commerce, but these U. S. standard packages are al¬ 
ready standard in New York. He said it cost as much 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
in the Far West to pack and handle a box of apples from 
tree to car as it did to handle a barrel in the Middle 
West. It seems to us that when the box brings as much 
as the barrel the box man is just three times better off, 
less the packing of two boxes, than the barrel man, and 
as their boxes are considerably short of one-third barrel 
they have enough apples left to pay for that extra pack¬ 
ing. 
“Present and Future Prospects for Fruit in the Middle 
West" was the subject assigned to P. A. Rodgers, of 
Gravette, Ark. He said the prospects for apples in the 
Middle West this year were from 25 to 30 per cent 
of a normal crop. Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska grows 
mostly early fruit and their crop is out of the way of 
the Winter fruit. Kansas makes a poorer showing than 
last year by 20 per cent. The insect enemies of this 
section are * legion and the future prospects for fruit 
depend on the successful combating of these. Many 
failures are due to the grower having too much other 
farming operations, and they neglect their orchards for 
other interests. In a few years the specialists will be 
alone in fruit growing and the business will increase 
in that way in the Middle West. Last April he found 
Winesaps selling for $3 per box. The dealer said he knew 
the box was snort, but he knew just how many apples 
were in it and the quality. They put a box on the 
scales and it weighed just 45 pounds gross weight. The 
box would weigh about 5 pounds. On opening the box 
they found every apple perfect. Contents is more im¬ 
portant than size of package. If you have the right kind 
of stuff' inside the size of package does not count much. 
In a trip through the South he found Colorado apples in 
every good-sized town, a lesson in distribution. The 
fruit growing industry in the Far West is still in its 
infancy. Nurserymen could not supply them with trees 
the past season. If we are to hold our own we must use 
up-to-date methods’ in every particular. Fungus diseases 
are worse than insects. Apple scab and bitter rot they 
thought were bad enough when they cam.e, but they now 
have a disease so much worse that they think these 
earlier diseases easy. Their latest and worst disease is 
known as star spot, and though it can be controlled tt 
is much more difficult to handle than other fungus dis¬ 
eases of the apple. Increase the demand for apples by 
cultivating the trade not only at home but in foreign 
countries. Consumption is growing faster than supply, 
and there is never an over supply of fancy fruit. You 
must first grow good fruit if you would pack good frpit. 
A member of the Apple Shippers’ Association spoke in 
favor of the Lafean Package Bill. This bill called for 
the same size packages as ^the New York law, and also 
establishes grades. All apples must be sound and the 
U. S. Standard stamp guarantees that. Then size grades 
are established which guarantee the size and 90 per cent, 
must be up to size called for in the grade. 
U. S. Standard A. means perfect apples 3% inches and up 
U. S. Standard B means perfect apples 2& inches aijd up 
U. S. Standard C means perfect apples 2 inches and up 
A United States Standard C Jonathan would represent 
just as good an apple for the variety as a U. S. Standard 
A King. 
E. Wallace of Cornell University told of experiments 
with lime-sulphur mixtures as fungicides particularly on 
apple scab. Although the work has not gone far enough 
to recommend its general use the results obtained this 
season at Cornell University have been very promising, 
and the lime-sulphur has given much better results than 
Bordeaux. Arsenate of lime is safer to use with the 
lime-sulphur mixtures than arsenate of lead or Paris-green. 
Fair samples of apples were shown from the differently 
treated trees and those treated with lime-sulphur were 
exceptionally clean and smooth, while those treated with 
Bordeaux mixture showed a little scab, considerable Bor¬ 
deaux injury and some aphis work. The aphis has caused 
great damage all over the State this season, and everyone 
wanted to know if lime-sulphur would control it. While 
the experiments indicate that it is successful in controll¬ 
ing this pest, no one was sure enough to be positive of it. 
Lime-sulphur has proven its effectiveness against the blis¬ 
ter mite and the leaf curl of the peach as well as its 
deadly effect on the scale and the self-boiled mixtures 
have held the brown rot in check better than anything 
yet tried. If it will also prove effective against fungus 
diseases of all kinds and the sucking insects it will cer- 
tainlv prove its right to the title of cure-all. But grow¬ 
ers would better go easy on it until further experiments 
are made. G - E - s> 
CALIFORNIANS ON THE WONDERBERRY. 
California people are thoroughly stirred up over the 
“Wonderberry” puzzle. We have already received over 
50 clippings from California papers. Most of the notes 
given below are taken from these public records. Both 
sides are brought out. The critics of Mr. Burbank have 
the advantage in the fact that they make direct charges, 
while his friends make general statements about his past 
work. We confine ourselves strictly to statements about 
the Wonderberry, at this time. 
The writer has received many letters, telephone mes¬ 
sages and personal calls regarding the so-called “Won¬ 
derberry,” and in addition lias received samples of same 
from eight different parties and has seen it. growing in 
several gardens. In giving an opinion of the same, the 
English language is all too poor to express one’s self 
and The Times does not care to print “roasts” in this 
department. It is sufficient to say that it is absolutely 
worthless, no better than several other species of night¬ 
shade, and its wide dissemination is a serious reflection 
on both the original grower and the distributor.—Los 
Angeles Times. 
“Be it resolved, that the _Pasadena Gardeners’ Associa¬ 
tion hereby strongly condemns the nature faking methods 
and the exploitations of alleged but false creations by 
Luther Burbank, and deplores the fact that a false im¬ 
pression has been given the public concerning plant 
breeding by Burbank. It is the sense of this association 
that this impression should be corrected.”—Pasadena Gar - 
deners’ Association. 
I do not wish to be understood as saying that Burbank 
has done nothing. What I desire to say is that his prod¬ 
ucts are of no commercial value. There is no demand for 
them. They are of no benefit to the world, but serve 
merely to gratify Burbank himself and his admirers. 
Burbank did not create the spineless cactus. It is a 
plant which has been grown in Mexico for years; like¬ 
wise, tlie Crimson Winter rhubarb was grown in Aus¬ 
tralia before Rurbank ever heard of it. Most of his prod¬ 
ucts are similar to these. I do not consider him a 
wizard, and have never thought there was anything 
wonderful about his results. It is a plain case of skill¬ 
ful faking.—liana Plath, President Pacific Coast Horti¬ 
cultural Society. 
Y”ou will probably lie interested to know that 1 exhib¬ 
ited a pot-grown plant of the Burbank Wonderberry 
with ripe fruit on it at the regular monthly meeting of 
the Pacific Coast Horticultural Society, San Francisco, 
August 7. The judges of the several exhibits were well- 
known local men. The exhibits are awarded points, and 
the member making most points in a year gets a silver 
cup. Needless to say. the Wonderberry scored nil. the 
report of the judges being that the fruit was worthless 
and the plant of no economic value. The 20 or more 
members who partook of the fruit said it was not “deli¬ 
cious'.” Being a social as well as a business night, there 
was something to wash the bad taste out of their mouths- 
C. J. SUTTON. 
San Mateo Co., Cal. 
I read so much about this Wonderberry last Fall that I 
purchased a package of seed from John Lewis Childs, 
paying 20 cents, I think, for about one-quarter of a 
teaspoonful. You can't imagine how I nursed them 
from the tiny plant to the large spreading bush, and my 
disappointment when I tasted of the first fruits of my 
toil. I began to think they were like olives; I would 
have to cultivate a taste for them. I would try one 
every now and then with no better results, and one day 
I found the deadly nightshade, growing just outside the 
garden, and thought at first I had found a fine Wonder¬ 
berry bush. I picked some of the berries and compared 
them with the Wonderberry. They resemble each other 
very much. I mashed one of each between my fingers 
That settled it with me. They look alike, they smell 
alike and they are alike in every respect; and I think 
you should give as wide publicity to it as possible, for I 
gave several plants away to friends, some in different 
counties.—Correspondent Coluumbia (S. C.) State. 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
The rainy spell stopped with us, and then we had a 
long, long drought, in which time we got our crops in 
order. We have had rains again lately, and there Is a 
good outlook for both corn and cotton. I was over at 
Jackson, Miss., for two days last week, and taking the 
country as a whole the cotton is worse than I ever knew 
it at this season. s. h. j. 
Mound, La. 
We are having a very serious time on account of lack 
of rain, and farmers say unless it rains within a few 
days the corn crop will be a failure. It is almost im¬ 
possible to buy fruit of any kind, and vegetables are 
scarce and inferior. Our own garden is worth little, out¬ 
side of corn, cabbage and beans, but everyone is com¬ 
plaining of the same conditions. The weather is cool 
to-day, August 11. after the hottest spell anyone can 
remember, so it is not likely to rain for some time. 
Pastures are very poor and many are feeding their 
cattle. w. c. k. 
Hardin Co., O. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—In an address before the 
Farmers' Institute, at Seward. Alaska, the first ever 
held in Alaska, Levi Chubbuck, special agent for the 
Department of Agriculture, who is there superintending 
surveys' of lands suitable for homesteads, stated that an 
area of at least one thousand square miles is suitable 
for the successful growing of forage and root crops in 
Alaska. 
Wool importations into this country in the last fiscal 
year amounted to 266,500,000 pounds, the largest re¬ 
corded during any year except 1897, according to a report 
issued by the Department of Commerce and Labor. The 
value of the wool imported was $45,000,000, while that 
of the decade ending with the last fiscal year was $213,- 
000.000. About one-third of the wool consumed in the 
United States is imported. The total consumption of 
wool in the United States in the decade just ended was 
4,750,000.000 pounds, of which 38 per cent was im¬ 
ported. Over $29,000,000 worth of clothing wool was 
imported during the last year. Great Britain lead- 
other countries in this respect. Of the great groups of 
wool-clothing wool, combing wool, and carpet wool. Great 
Britain supplied more than $19,000,000 worth, or more 
than 42 per cent of the total importations. 
Three Governors delivered addresses at the Irrigation 
Congress, at Spokane. Wash., August 10. They were 
Hay of Washington. Brady of Idaho, and Gilchrist of 
Florida. “General Purposes of the Irrigation Congress,” 
was discussed from the platform by Senator Ileyburn 
of Idaho. Representative Ransilell of Louisiana, pres- 
dent of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress, fol¬ 
lowed Senator Ileyburn in discussing the general sub¬ 
ject, and W. K. Kavanaugh, president of the I>akes'-to- 
the-Gulf Deep Waterway Association, presented the case 
of the Middle West, which is endeavoring to secure 
national aid in deepening the channel of the Mississippi 
River. Prof. W. D. Lyman of Whitman College spoke 
on “Deep Waterways for the Inland Empire.” 
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Our Almanac tells all about it. 
Sent free to any address. 
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The Lesson 
of the 1909 
Wheat Crop 
in this country is: Not enough of the right kind 
of wheat at the right time to get the right price. 
The trouble is: wheat-sick lands, lands worn out 
by continued cropping without fertilizing. 
The remedy is: the right amount of the right kind 
of fertilizer at the right time. 
The right time is this Fall: the right amount is 200 to 
400 lbs. to the acre; the right kind is2-8-6. 
If your commercial fertilizer contains less than 6 percent, of 
Potash, make it right by adding Muriate of Potash until 
it contains 6 per cent, and you’ll find that 
POTASH PAYS 
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J' 
