HORTICULTURAL GOSSIP. V.
BY L. WOOLVERTON, M. A., GRIMSBY.
How to Pack a Barrel of Apples.—Few growers of fruit are aware how much their success in the markets depends upon the manner in which their fruit is packed. And this matter is worthy of especial attention now that the apple is becoming so important an article of export from Ontario, because only such as have been properly put up will be purchased for shipment to foreign markets.
The best place for packing is in barns, or under cover of sheds, where wet weather cannot hinder, for apples should always be dry when handled to preserve their bright fresh appearance. They may be brought into the store house on a drag, either in bushel baskets or in barrels, which latter need not be emptied till packing time. If emptied in heaps, a few inches of straw should be first placed upon the floor, and the depth should not exceed two or three feet. Practically however, the most of our orchardists pack from heaps in the orchard.
The following suggestions for packing may prove useful to some of the readers of the Horticulturist.
1st—Put the name of the variety on the head of the barrel with a stencil, in the first place, because when headed up mistakes are easily made as to the kind enclosed.
2nd—Take out the bottom end and pack first the end intended as the head, placing in the first two layers by hand with the stems downward, so that on being opened the barrel may present a nice even appearance.
3rd—Select carefully, throwing out all wormy, spotted or bruised specimens, to be sold as culls or made into cider, and making the quality uniform throughout the barrel. The deceptive practice of making a fair show at both ends, and hiding poor stock in the middle deserves the severest censure as dishonest; besides proving the worst policy in the end, for what buyer would be twice deceived by such contemptible fraud.
4th—The barrel should be gently shaken several times while being filled, to settle the apples closely; after which the end will need to be pressed down only about three-quarters of an inch, for which purpose a lever or screw press will be found almost indispensable. Experience will soon teach just how much pressure is needed to keep the fruit from shaking about in transit. This is an important point, for nothing would sooner spoil a cargo of apples, or indeed of any other fruit, than rattling about in the barrels or other packing cases.
5th—Line both ends securely, for it is not an uncommon occurrence for the barrels to burst open with rough usage on the passage; and tighten all hoops, using only enough nails to hold them in place.
6th—Mark upon the head of the barrels the address of the consignee with a stencil plate, adding also some distinctive mark or monogram by which the shipper may be known in the market.
The reward of such care may not be reaped the first year or the second, but in time a reputation may be gained that will command a corresponding price for all fruit shipped.
The King of Tompkins Apple.—This apple is proving itself very desirable for cultivation in Ontario, at least on the Niagara peninsula; this season particularly, it has yielded an abundant crop of beautiful fruit. It is supposed to have originated in Wayne County, New Jersey, and has borne in different places the names, King Apple, Tom’s Red, and Tommy Red. We have seen it growing in Chenango Co., N. Y., where it is accounted a very sparse bearer, but with us it has yielded for more than one season an abundance only surpassed by such heavy bearers as the Baldwin and Roxbury Russet. It has fewer culls than the Northern Spy, which is the only large apple we would rank superior to it in quality; the latter producing a great many small uncoloured specimens on the under branches, while if the King hangs until about the first week in October, every specimen will become deeply shaded and splashed with crimson, and be uniformly large and showy. So fine a size does it attain that we find it not uncommon to fill a barrel with one hundred and eighty specimens of average size. The flavor is exceedingly agreeable, being rich and vinous, making it the best for cooking purposes; its large size alone debarring it from being also classed as best for dessert. It keeps nicely until February or even March, so that in this respect it has the advantage over the highly esteemed Esopus Spitzenburg.
As a market apple it is rising rapidly in favor. In Glasgow, where red apples are very popular, the King commands the highest price, and only this season has been quoted at from $5.00 to $7.00 per barrel, which however it may be wise to look upon “cum grano salis.”
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