The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1880-12-22

over lay that side down which holds
the paper in place. The Hathaway
and the Acme are the favorite; the
Hathaway perhaps a few days the
earliest, but the Acme will be found
the more solid, very smooth, round,
and of good size. 1t will be a busy
time with those who have large
tomato crop on hand, say from the Is
of May to the 25 of June; the height
Of the season about the lst OF June.
Paper costs from 5 to 7 cents per
crate TO wrap with, and from to
10 cents per crate according to scar.
city OF hands to get them wrapped
and packed. A hand will wrap from
twelve to twenty crates day; the lar
ger the tomato the faster they can
wrap. To makeit profitable tomatoes
ought to bring from SIT So per crate.
Egg plants need much the same
care az tomatoes only the plant being
more tender and easily killed with
cold they need more careful handling
especially as they much dislike trans
planting; one transplanting before
putting in the field is enough for
them. You need rich soil you can
not be too lavish with fertilizers.
When you ship be careful to wrap
each egg separately in paper. Do
not bruise as each bruise will develop
a rotten spot in a day or two. The
New York improved l have always
found the best variety. A double
crate or small barrel we'll ventilated
will be found best to pack and ship
in. -Four feet each way is good
distance to plant. The market is
easily overstocked with them, al
though the demand tor them is yearly
increasing.
Squashes are shipped some but
are not a paying crop, from 81 to
S1.50 per crate being the average
price. The white scolioped or patty
s.span being )the kind wanted. Max.
your hills rich, four or five feet apart,
plant as soon as you think there is no
danger of frost Pick while the out
side skin is yet tender Pack close
as possible not bruising. The green
worm Is apt to trouble them consid :
erably; throw ali away that have
worm holes in them as the worm
keeps eating and your squash will be
nasty mess when it gets to its des-
tlnation. We have never found any
or very little profit in them. How
ever if you can manage to get in
few OF the earliest crates they gener-
ally sell well.
Watermelons are more of farm
than garden crop, yet as many OF our
gardeners raise them few words
about them will not be out of place.
Whole cotton seed has heretofore
been used a great deal for this crop,
from one-half to one peck per hill
hills eight fset apart. The cotton
seed is sometimes boiled just enough
to prevent termination or have holes
dug deeply and seed we'll covered
and most OF it will rot and not sprout
without boiling. Plant about the lst
of March some parties know here
who usually grow more or less al
/. ways plant on the 10th of March,
. thinking they do better than when
planted earlier. A compound OF
cotton seed meal, bone dust and
muck or we'll rotted stable manure
would no doubt prove a good tertil-
lzer. The rattlesnake or Augusta
Melon is the one raised to the eXclu-
sion of most every thing else. The
: rule heretofore has been to ship none
less than eighteen pounds; that while
: transportation was ID cent melon !;
, now l believe they charge by the
pound. The crop this year was al
; most total failure, the drouth in the
spring completely running them.
know parties who planted from ten
, to twenty-five acres who did not sell So
, worth; others who got a few but so late
; they came in competition with the
J Georgia melon, aud they not only
l lost the melons but had TO pay the
=. freight, from S120 to S140 per car
: load. Another trouble is the large
: per cent. OF loss during transporta-
, ton sometimes ammounting to one
. third. For this you have no redress.
, Again when shipping by the steam
5 ship to the large cities North you
/; have no assurance. The commission
+ man you consign TO gets your melons.