The Columbus journal., 1902-12-10

! NalS8
Coed Fruit a. PveAtahse Fss'e
Good fruit does not by nscossity q
ways meaA profitable ffuie IN t1ces
II u quite seldom that ffuit = of boeA
good quality and profitable. THIS .
certainly the caso west a the Alle'
ghany mountains. East of that poens
there are regions that grow both good
and profitable fruit. In that great
region known - The West" tAe
most profitable apples are thoes O
only fair quality. but long keepers ana
good shippers. In all this region the
tight for and against the Ben Davis
apple has been on ever since thAe
apple WAS originated. But In spite Of
the fact that IL II not Of high quality
It has made headway against al op
position. It has pushed into al parts
Of the country, has passed over the
Allegheny mountains and has invaded
New England In force. How has this
been possible, when Il was % roundly
dispraised? Il was because orchard
planters had found II to be . very
profitable apple. They were always
sure Of getting . crop Of apples when
they planted this variety. Moreover
It keeps 50 long that II can b held
for q time Of year when apples are
scarce, and at that time will sell at .
good price. The apple trees being
planted now comprise . very large per-
centage Of Ben Davis apples. even In
the New England states. .
The same II true Of small fruits.
The strawberry that Is good for home
use il not Q shipper, The man that
plants must remember this. He may
plant one variety for his own use be-
cause that one is Of high quality. He
plants another to sell, because II will
bear packing. shipment and trans
shipment. II is impossible for the
strawberry grower to put the best
quality berries on the market They
would be spoiled before reaching the
customer. II has been found that the
good shippers are not generally ber-
ries Of great favor or even beautiful
appearance. Men have been looking
for fruit that would combine In itself
all the good and desired qualities. We
do not know Of any fruit that has
come up to the demand In this regard.
In fact. so far as this quest IL con-
cerned. we seem to be N far from the
goal as ever.
Cold Storage Experiment In 1ovss.
A communication from the Iowa Ag-
ricultural College says: The Horticul-
tural Department of the Iowa Expert
ment Station has one hundred barrels
of standard varieties Of Iowa apples In
cold storage to determine the relative
keeping qualities Of the varieties the
length of time they may be held sue
cessfully. and the best temperature
for storing. The varieties included In
the test are Wealthy. Wolf River. Fa-
meuse, Mcmahon, Jonathan. Domino.
Ben Davis. Seek-NoFurther. Janet.
Roman Stem. Northern Spy. Willow
Twig and White Pippin. From three
to ten barrels of each variety have
been used, and the apples carefully Sc
lected and packed. The apples were
bought at Corning. Iowa, In the heart
Of the Adams County apple district. at
prevailing prices, and were packed by
. commercial packer under the direc-
ton of the Experiment Station. The
results should be a fair guide both to
the commercial Orchardist and dealer.
The work this year Is but beginning
and it Is hoped that next year Il may
be conducted on q more extensive
scale and that cooperative expert
L.cnts may be arranged for In different
sections of the state. Cold storage Of
fruits and vegetables is a subject Of
vital importance to the live hOrticul-
turist. ana the Experiment Station at
Ames Is receiving many inquiries from
those who contemplate building stOr-
age plants both for private and COM
mercial use. It is q line along which
little experimenting has been done and
q subject of special importance to tho
fruit growers of the Northwest since
we cannot raise successfully the long
keeping varieties Of the East.
Asparagus.
Asparagus is found growing In ve.y
lew gardens in Oklahoma 1t is easily
grown and makes a very nice dish in
Early spring when people are hungry
'or fresh vegetables. The plants can
be grown from seed. but 1t Is best to
start the patch from clumps OF roots
Is it will be three or four years before
he seedlings are large enough to pro-
luce good stems. The plants should
,e set in rows five feet apart and the
,lants four feet apart In the row.
The plants should be placed 50 the
rowns vii. be about six inches be-
ov the surface Of the soil. The bed
hould seceiye good clean cultivation
n the summer and . good coating Of
in the winter. The old stems
mould be removed in the fall. There
re several methods of forcing the
lants into early growth in the spring.
simple method of forcing enough for
amily use is to dig some large clumps
rom the patch. retaining as much soil
$ possible with the roots and place
q a hot bed. Keep the roots well
,atered and growth will start In q few
ays Good clumps will furnish several
bat are Of little value after
eing forced in this way. Another
.ethod is to spread fresh manure
sc2 enough over the ground to heat.
his method acts much slower than
ne one Just described but doesn't de-
troy the plants.-Bulletin Oklahoma