482 
vel<>)) 0 (l far enoiijili l»y tlie lime the dry weather of 
11)0 Summer sets in the crop is likely to he light 
Also late oats, largely because of the i)eculiar 
wealher conditions of “dog days’’ and the presence 
of a gj'eat number of live s])ores in the air, are 
much more likely to be injured by rust than are 
the early-sowed croj). 
SEED!NO.—Althoiigh eai-l.v sowing is advised the 
< rop .should not he "mudded” in. Seeding should 
he delayed until conditions are right and then 
I'ushed. Eight here is where the tractor comes in 
to good advantage, as (he work can l)e left until 
(he ground is right to work, and then the tractor 
naiy he used night and day. if need he, until the 
seed is in. It is true, as mentioned above, that oats 
requii'c n)oi-e water for development than almost 
any other of the eereahs. and may he grown on wet¬ 
ter soils than the othei-s. hut a well-drained soil is 
a great advantage heouise of permitting the early 
seedi))g sjjoken of. Tn the scheme of crop rotation 
usually lU’acticed oats follow com. and when this 
method is followed on the so-called light soils in 
good tilth, the seed bed is sometimes prepai'cd hy 
disking alone, with good results. Spring pi-ei)ara- 
tion of the seed bed consists of working over the 
top soil, compacting the seed h(‘d and establishing a 
loose mulch on top to conserve the water supj)ly .so 
necessai’y to oat i)i’oduction. 
FEHTII.IZA'riON.—Only in exceptional cases 
should stable manure be applied to land being fitted 
for oiits for. although the ci-oj) is a coarse feeder 
and can readily u.se fertility in this form, it makes 
such a rank gi-owth. when any considerable amount 
of nitrogen is available, tlnit it lodges badly. For 
this i-eason the stable manui'e is usually apjilied to 
the cro]) jireceding the oats in the rotation followed, 
and a fertilizer containing i)hosi)hoi-us and potash 
aiijilied to the oats to give stiffness to the straw 
and to .s(*cui-e iiluiu)). ejirly-maturing kernels. A 
fei’tilizer made up of l.-oOt) iiounds of acid rock and 
500 )) 0 uu(ls of muriate of jiotash Inis long been a 
standard oiie with successful oat gi-owei’s. for the 
heavier tyjies of soil. .\t the jiresent time the potash 
is pi-actically unobtainable, and its place has to be 
tilled with the best substitute available oi‘ the acid 
I'ock apiilied aloue. This mixture is used at the 
liite of from .’500 to 500 pounds jiei' acre, and even 
:is light a di'essing :is 200 ])ounds jier acre gives 
benelicial results. On sandy .soils, in a low state 
of fei'tility. stalde manure may be used sparingly 
but cai’e must be exercised to keep the amount small 
enough to ]»revent the rank green growth so'con- 
dticive to lodging. • 
DISEASES AND THEIR CONTROL.—The oat 
]>lant is remarkably free from insect and disease 
jiests. only two disease.s. the loose smut of oats and 
black stem lai.st giving the farmer of the North much 
ti’oiible. Suiut is j)revalent everywhei'e . and causes 
los.ses yearly. The si)oi-es ai'e carried on the seed 
and g(‘rminate with it, the smut imiking its growth 
within the hollow oat stalk. .Vt the time the oat 
head fornis the smut develops, stopiung the gi-owth 
<it the oat kernels. The.se smutty heads can .seldom 
be noticed in looking aci-oss a field, because the 
growth of ’the oat jilant has been checked by the 
development of the smut, and the affected heads 
are )mich lower Ihiin the clean heads .sui-rounding 
tlami. Foi- this reason the iiest is often neglected. 
KURAlL NEW-YORKER 
fdarch 30, 1918 
it.s presence not being detected until an examina¬ 
tion is made for it in the field. This disease can 
easily be controlled by disinfecting the seed with a 
treatment of formaldehyde gas. The usual method of 
treating seed oats with this gas is to make a .solu¬ 
tion of one pound of standard formalin, a 40 per cent 
solution of formaldehyde gas in water, that can be 
obtained at any drug store, with 40 gallons of water. 
This will make .sufficient .solution for treating about 
40 bushels of oats. The seed to be treated is spread 
out on a tight floor and the formalin solution ap¬ 
plied with a .sprinkling pot. at the same time shovel¬ 
ing over the oats until all are thoroughly wet. The 
grain should then be thrown into a pile and covered 
with sacking or old blankets to retain the fumes, 
and left in this way for about 24 hours, when it is 
ready for .seeding. This wetting will of coiu'se 
cause the kernels to swell somewhat, and allowance 
for their increased size should be made when .setting 
the drill; abso the drill .should be closely watched 
while in use to see that it does not become clogged 
with the damp grain. If the grain cannot he sown 
at once it must be sju'cad out to dr.v befo)'e sack¬ 
ing. and should then be stored in bags that have 
been scalded or otheiwi.^jo treated to kill the s])ores 
of the smut. A method of using formalin that is 
Harvcsiinft llie Oats. Fig. 251 
iai)idly gaining favor is to u.-^e the 40 per cent .solu¬ 
tion without dilution. If carefully done this method 
.'^eems to give e<pially good results, re(pui’es no more 
formalin and does not cause the grain to swell and 
choke the drill as is sometimes the case in the 
niethod tii-st outlined. The formalin solution is put 
into a small hand sprayer, the oats sjjread out on 
the flooi- and the solution .spi-ayed over them, turn¬ 
ing and mixing the oats thoroughly dui-ing the spray¬ 
ing. Aftei- the spraying and mixing has been com¬ 
pleted the oats are .shoveled into a ])ile and closely 
covei'ed with sacks that have been spra.ved with 
the formalin. It is a good ])olicy to turn the sacks 
inside out, spraying at lejist the inside and prefer¬ 
ably both sides. 'J'he.se sacks can then be used to 
c.aiu’y the grain to the fields. kobkut h. smith. 
Canning Apples and Pineapples 
Fart I. 
Will you toll mo how' pinoapplOvS and other fruits 
ai'o i)Ut up by the canning factories’.:’ Is there any 
place where I could learn the fruit preserve busine.'js 
as carried out by the large canning factoides, oi- do 
you know of any good book on same’? ,j. ii. s. 
West Lynn, Mass. 
I N all fruit canning the princii)le is the .sime. 
'The fruit is prepared about the same as one 
would prepare for table use, packed in the cans, 
se.iled airtight and exposed to heat for the length 
of time necessary to Idll all germs or s])ores of 
.si)oiIage. The sugar that sometimes is put in the 
cans with the fruit is only for the juirpose of mak¬ 
ing the ^ goods tiiste better when .served, and the 
wat(‘r that is put in the cans is simply put there 
to nnike a syimj) and till the spaces between the 
fi'uit. If fimit is packed in a can nnjieeled and 
dry just iis it comes from the tree, and the can 
seakMl ])ei-fectly aii-tight and exposed to heat for 
a sullicient length of lime, the fruit or any other 
substance will keep indetinitel.v. 
1 think that the easiest way to explain how pine- 
ap])les are canned is to take the method of canning 
:i simpler and more common fruit such as apiiles. 
so 1 will exidain the method of canning apples and 
then treat of the canning of piiieapples. The ap- 
pl('s are bi'ought to the large factories either in 
bai'rels or in bulk carloads and stoi'ed until wanted. 
When )-eady for canning the aijples are shoveled 
into a washer, which is si)n])ly ii long cylinder cov- 
ei’ed Avith Avire netting. 
'J’he inside of the cylinder is a spiral, .so that as 
the cylinder revolves the apples are carried thi-ough 
from one end to the other. 
As the ap])les pass thi-ough the Avasher they are 
exposed to sprays of water under jjressure, ji sort 
of .shoAver bath which removes all dirt, leaves, 
etc. Then the ajiple.s go to the i»eeling machines. 
which are simply an overgrown type of the little 
family apple peelers Avhich we have in our homes, 
only these machines are so arranged on a central 
turn-table that they are practically automatic in 
their operation, one machine costing perhaps $40 
now being capable of turning out a hundred or 
more bushels of jieeled apples per hour. The par¬ 
ings fall in one place and the core. Avhich is auto¬ 
matically removed at the .same time, falls in 
another. 
The apples then pass to the girls Avho trim them. 
Each girl takes an apple and quarters it, I'emoving 
any portion of the fruit that may not he up to re¬ 
quirements. All the AA’aste of the apple is used. The 
skins and cores are dried and packed in barrels and 
sold to vinegar maker.s, also to make imitation 
champagne. The trimmings are also dried or made 
into A'inegar at the factory. The apples are now 
ready for the cans. In some factories the girls pack 
the apples dii-ect in cans by hand. In other fac¬ 
tories ^he apples are dumped into machines which 
automatically fill the cans. In the large factories 
nearly all the cans used are of the type knoAvn as 
“open top.” .sometimes called the “sanitary can.” 
This can, Avhen empty, looks something like the 
ordinary tin pail, the end of the can corresponding 
to the lid of the pail. The end or lid of this can 
is not .-soldered on, as is the cap or top of the 
“regular” can, but is crimped or pinched into 
place by Avhat is knoAvn as a “double soamer.” run 
by power. The airtight joint betAveen the end or 
tbe lid of the can and the body of the can is made 
I)y iilacing betAveen the (avo a jing or Avasher of 
rubber cement, the same as is used Avith Ma.son jar. 
'The smaller factories use the Avell-knoAvn old style 
“regular’’ can Avith the soldered top, Avhich is 
.soldered by hand. 
When the cans are filled and before being closed, 
either by the machine or hand, they are filled to the 
top Avith Avater if to be used for pies, or Avith sugar 
syrup if for table use. t'ometimes before the fruit is 
jtlaced in the cans a certain amount of sugar is put 
in the Iiottom of each can, the fruit ])laced in and 
Avater added Avhen the top is ready to be i)laced in 
position. The syrup or AViiter added is generally 
heated before being i)ut in the cans, and the cans 
clo.sed or sealed at once before contents have time 
to cool. The reason for the use of the hot Avater or 
syrup is this: Heating expands the contents, and if 
the can is closed Avhile hot all the air has been ex¬ 
pelled. and Avhen the airtight can cools after being 
proce.^sed it has a tendency to shrink a trifle and 
this diTiAvs the end of the cans tightly doAvn toAvard 
the contents and makes a moi-e finished looking can. 
After being sealed the cans are i)laced in iron cages 
or crates Avhich are made to fit the cooking kettles 
in Avhich the final processing is done. The cages 
hold about 200 quart cans and three crates are placed 
in one kettle at a processing, being lifted in the ket¬ 
tle by a chain hoist or traveling crane. The tinie of 
cooking, “pi’ocessing.” it is called In the factories, 
varies for the dilferont fniit.«, and for the different 
AiU'ieties of the siime fruit. The exact time can 
only be oldained from actmil exiterience. Apples 
are processed in boiling Avater for aiqu’oximately 15 
minutes, deiieuding upon A’ariety and degree of ripe¬ 
ness. When )))-ocessed they ai’o taken from the ket- 
The Crop from Clean. Graded Oats. Fig. 252 
A WcU-Fornied Shock of Oats. Fig. 250 
