The record-union., 1899-06-20
Agriculture
and
Horticulture.

AhoSe interested in Pacific Coast az
rculfure and horticulture Will find the
Following of interest:
A NEW PACKING HOUSE
Sutter County Farmer: The new
packing house recently erected in Yuba
lily by Rosenberg Bros. & Co., was
formally opened last Thursday night by
grand ball given by the manager, G.
A. Rand The immense building was
prllHantly lighted by six are lights,
ana delegations We're present from
upa, Butte and all portions OF this
county, conservative estimate plac-
Ing the number present at 1000 per-
sons An orchestra of eight pieces
ulscoursed excellent music. j. L. Dun
can and M. C. Coats attended to the
wants OF the inner man and Floor Di-
rector c. E. Buckley, assisted by jerry
OBrden, Walter Bailey, Will Gray,
VIII McCune and T. A. McKenna man
aged the floor in an able manner.
CROPS AND WEATHER.
Red Bluff Sentinel: In the Sacra-
nlento and San Joaquin Valleys the
temperature has averaged from to .
degrees above normal for the week,
while on the coast and in Southern
California it has been normal or slight
ly below. Light showers occurred in
the extreme south the morning of the
12th elsewhere no rain fell during the
week. The warm weather was not
accompanied by nortfers, and was
therefore beneficial to all growing crops.
Wheat is ripening rapidly and will soon
be ready for harvest. In some sec
tions barley harvesting has commenced;
the yield and quality are good Hay1ng
IS nearly completed. Deciduous fruits
are being gathered; peaches are yield
ing a very large crop, of good quality.
In some sections apricots are more
plentiful than had been estimated.
Grapes were benefited by favorable
conditions during the week, and prom
ise good crop. Citrus fruits and wal
nuts are in good condition.
APPLE STORING.
California Fruit Grower: A series
Of trials of methods of storing apples
was conducted in Canada during the
season of 1S96-91, beginning in the fall
and continuing until the last of July.
The tests, made by Government ex-
perts included twenty-four varieties of
apples and We're planned to test the fol-
lowing points: Wrapped versus unwrap-
ped fruit; cellar versus ground floor
storage, and close versus ventilated
packages Specimens wrapped in pa
per kept best; there were fewer rotten
apples and they lost least by eVapora-
tion. The ground floor storeroom dld
not preserve them as we'll as the cellar
The tight package preserved the fruat
best in storeroom but not in cellar; per
contra the ventilated did better in cell
lar than in Storeroom.
THINNING PEACHES.
Los Angeles Times: A test of thin
ming peaches and plums, made by M.
Burrell at st. Catharines, Ontario Inst
year is reported. Three six-year-o old
Hyne Surprise peach trees We're chos-
en-; one was thdnned June 22d, one ten
days later and the third left unthinned.
On the thinned trees the fruit was left
about two inches apart. At the time
of thinning, the fruit on the tree first
-thinned was one-half to two-thdrds
inches long and on the tree thinned lat
er, one to one-quarter inches long.
Thinning was found to increase the
total yield and the size of fruits and
to decrease the amount of rot. Three
trees of Moore Arctic plum were treat
ed similarly to the peach trees. The
results gave the same indications as
the peaches, though not so marked. The
gentleman says: In both cases it will
be observed that the early thinning
bore the most profitable results and it
will manifestly pay to commence work
of this kind Immediately after the fruit
SETS A test of thinning apples and
plums at the Central Experimental
Farm emphasized the results obtained
by Mr.. Burrell.
AS TO PRUNES.
California Fruit Grower: An advice
from New York states that the re-
ceipts Of all kinds of cured fruits in that
city for the week ended May 10th, OF
the current year were 301 packages
against 1910 packages during the cor
responding week in 1898. Since Janu-
ary !, 1899, the receipts were 4S,6o9
packages, compared with 81, ,102 pack
ages during the same period year
ago. The receipts of cured fruits dur
ing the week ended May Goth were 23l
packages, compared with 2.S51 pack
ages during the same period in 1898
Since January /, 1899. and up to thu
date mentioned receipts made total
of 1880 packages compared with
a year ago. These figures show plainly
the very slow movement of cured fruits
at the present time.
Receipts of cured fruits in a single
city. New York, during the first I'VE
months of this year show falling off
of 6O,574 packages as compared with
the receipts during a similar period IL
1898 New York is the leading if not
the largest distributing market in the
United States and the condition OF
things existing there is but an Illus
tration of what is apparently going or
Cor to be exact-what is not going on.
in nearly all parts of the country. II
this apparent slow movement is ar
actuality, If the markets East and Wes'
are keeping the funereal step with New
York, then a very great curbing in the
consumptive demand has taken place
all along the line.
Taste can undergo a change, the pal
ate can be educated and it also car
be vitiated. Whether or no some revul.
sion of feeling has taken place regard,
ing cured fruits, and prunes particu.
larly, we cannot say, neither do we
know whether Dame Fashion ha:
viewed that table adjunct through hel
lorgnette and with deprecating ges-
ture has uttered the fatal words-"Ah
thanks, weally, but no more Of that"
Dealers and others are at loss tt
explain why prunes do not find gar
at the existing very reasonable figures
particularly SO in the almost entire alb
sence Of other varieties of cured fruits
raisins excepted, and the latter are no
c1rh<fifYYfo