THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
-7 
influence you possess to secui’e for this institution such appropria¬ 
tions as are necessary. 
Insecticides and Fungicides. —Entomologists inform us that 
there are three hundred thousand varieties of insects, most of 
which are not injurious, hut many are liable to become so through 
change of temperature or lack of sustenance. This fact shows how 
important the science of entomology is. The department of agri¬ 
culture is entitled to the greatest credit for the efforts it has made 
to study the life, history and characteristics of these insects, as 
well as to discover means of checking their ravages. The experi¬ 
ments in insecticides and methods of spraying have been invalu¬ 
able. We are informed by the department that 250 new or nearly 
new injurious insects have been studied to a greater or less degi’ee 
during the year. The operation of spraying is carried on in Cali¬ 
fornia in a most thorough and systematic manner, and its methods 
are worthy of consideration. In large orchards a tank is placed 
on a farm wagon and filled with the material to be used. Four 
pieces of rubber hose with nozzles lead from a force pump placed 
across the tank, and with one good man at the handle and four 
men on the ground, four large trees are sprayed at the same time. 
Marketing Fruit.— One of the greatest difficulties fruit 
growers encounter to-day is the marketing of their products. For 
some unaccountable reason the crop of almost every grower is as 
soon as ripe, hurried off to three or four of the large eastern mar¬ 
kets and immense quantities arriving at the same time cause prices 
to drop, to an extent which is disastrous to the shipper. How to 
secure a systematic and uniform distribution of fruit is a vital ques¬ 
tion which the grower is now forced to consider. The Niagara 
Grape Co. was the first to originate and adopt a plan of distribu¬ 
tion which has been successful and satisfactory. In view of the 
low prices received this year for grapes, the growers in the vicin¬ 
ity of Keuka Lake have called a public meeting of the vineyard- 
ists of the state inviting them to co-operate for the purpose of 
devising some plan whereby reasonable prices may be obtained in 
the future. This action is certainly prudent, and the question 
should be kept under consideration until some satisfactory conclu¬ 
sion is reached. By combining, growers will be enabled to em¬ 
ploy only competent persons whose business it shall be to look up 
markets, attend to shipments and secure fair prices. Trickery and 
deception in the way of putting up should be discountenanced and 
condemned, and a reputation for honor in grading and packing 
should be established and maintained. It is easy to build up a 
reputation for good goods and careful grading, and such a reputa¬ 
tion will be invaluable to its possessor. 
Home and Foreign Markets. —There is a ready sale for 
good American apples abroad, but foreign buyers this year make 
numerous complaints about the consignments, which they say were 
inferior in quality and poor in condition. This was principally 
Maine and Canadian fruit. Only fruit of best quality can be 
shipped abroad advantageously. Last year at this time about 
1,000,000 barrels had been sent to the English market. The amount 
shipped this year is 100,000 less. The apple crop, as a whole, in 
New York State was not what it should have been owing to the 
prevalence of apple scab and injurious insects. Hardly an orchard 
or a variety esca^ied injury. In Ontario County, however, the fruit 
crop was large, and growers in that section are extremely gratified 
with the results. Instead of shipping the usual amount abroad a 
new market was found at home, as the following illustrates : In New 
. Hampshire it is stated about 500,000 barrels were shipped over the 
Boston & Maine Railroad, tw'o-thirds of which were raised in New 
Hampshire, and the noticeable feature about this crop was that 
the bulk of it was shipped to western cities. Good prices were 
paid to the farmers, the price per barrel averaging $1.85. The 
estimated cost of producing the fruit is about 50 cents per barrel, 
hence'the grower must realize well from his crop. A purchaser 
from Sioux City, Iowa, is said to have left $25,000 in Rockingham 
County, N. H., for apples, and so pleased is he with the fruit that 
he intends to become a regular buyer. The sales reported show tha ^ 
not less than $700,000 have been received for apples shipped this 
year from New Hampshire. An interesting experiment in ship¬ 
ping American grapes to England was made this fall by the grow¬ 
ers in Chautauqua County, who shipped several carloads by steamer 
Germanic, arriving in Liverpool the 5th of November; the grapes 
were unloaded in good condition, and were sold at 39 cents to 45 
cents per basket; 1,000 baskets sent to London sold at 45 cents to 
57 cents per basket. It is said that the grapes sent were Concord, 
and that they netted the producers 20 cents to 23 cents per basket, 
but that the flavor of the fruit was not satisfactory to the English 
palate. It is believed that if the high-flavored varieties could be 
sent safely a good market will be established there. It is hoped 
that the experiment will be repeated next year on a larger scale, 
and that Delawares and well-ripened Catawbas and other choice 
kinds will be forwarded to make the test a critical one. 
Reference was made to the death, since the previous 
session, of Joseph Harris, Moreton Farm, Monroe 
County ; Godfrey Zimmerman, Pine Hill, Buffalo ; P. 
C. Dempsey, Ontario ; Thomas Hogg, New York City. 
J. H. HALE ON PEACH CULTURE. 
J. H. Hale, of South Glastonbury, Conn., gave an 
entertaining talk on “Peach Culture ” This was one 
of the most valuable features of the meeting. Mr. Hale 
was given fifteen minutes to talk. He occupied half an 
hour and then as much longer answering questions, and 
as President Barry was obliged to declare the discussion 
closed in order to present the programme, Mr. Hale 
was surrounded at every intermission during both days 
by anxious inquirers. Mr. Hale is one of the most 
widely known fruit growers of the country. He has 
large orchards in New England and the South, princi¬ 
pally in Connecticut and Georgia. The narrative of his 
success in the growing of peaches in Connecticut pro¬ 
duced little less than amazement among his hearers. 
The impression has prevailed generally that the soil of 
Connecticut, noted for its sterility, is scarcely able to 
produce enough grass to keep a woodchuck alive. Mr. 
Hale stated calmly that in six years thirty-five acres of 
• peach trees had returned crops which brought $6o,ooo, 
and when he explained in detail how it was done his 
hearers were incredulous no longer. He said when he 
decided to grow peaches in Connecticut he put all the 
money he could scrape together into land and trees. 
The first crop from thirty-five acres netted $9,000 ; the 
second $2,000, paying expenses, and the third $28,000, 
as the result of an expenditure of $2, 500 for commercial 
fertilizers. He deprecated the use of §table manure as 
making too much, too rapid and too tender wood growth. 
He advocated pruning for fruit rather than for style. 
He detailed the method of packing fruit in baskets, lay¬ 
ing stress on the importance of keeping the quality the 
same throughout the basket. He favored the Alexan¬ 
der, Waterloo, and a dozen others, the Mountain Rose, 
Keyport White and the Stump of the white varieties ; 
HiH’s Chili, Elberta, Smock and Wonderful of the yel¬ 
low varieties. 
TREES FOR STREET PLANTING. 
Wm. McMillan, Superintendent of Parks, Buffalo, 
