94 Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



One is we have too large an amount of earlv and fall fruit; the 

 early market is mainly stocked from the south before it ripens 

 with us, and ours finds but few purchasers and soon decays. An- 

 other reason is, because the reputation of our home fruit, both early 

 and late, has been greatly injured by the careless, slovenly man- 

 ner in which it lias been handled, and the inferior condition in 

 which it is usually sent to market. The common method is to let 

 it hang on the tree until the hurry of fall work is over, then shake 

 the trees, and put the apples into bags, or throw them loose into 

 the wagon, and jolt along to town to market them ; or to pile them, 

 when thus gathered, up in bins or barrels in the still warm and 

 close cellars. Our falls are usually warm and dry, and if the ap- 

 ples are allowed to hang until freezing weather comes, and makes 

 it necessary to gather them, they become over-ripe and soon decay ; 

 the season even of the later winter varieties is thus far advanced 

 before gathered. If the same care were taken to pick early, sort 

 out and pack with care and to keep the fruit cool until taken to 

 market, as is done in Michigan, Ohio and New York, our fruit 

 would keep as well and even better than theirs, as we would save 

 the injury that must necessarily result from long shipments ; for 

 there is nothing peculiar to our soil, climate or tree3 that should 

 lead to early decay. The wonder is, that with the treatment it 

 receives it keeps so well. In October last I saw the finest, largest 

 and fairest Fameuse ever grown, brought to town like potatoes or 

 turnips and sold for twenty-five cents a bushel, over-ripe, and so 

 bruised that there was not an uninjured one in the pile, and it 

 was necessary to use them up within two weeks in order to save 

 them, whereas if they had been handled properly they could have 

 been kept up to March and April, and this is but a specimen of 

 what is done all over our state. 



Another thing which detracts from the market value of our home 

 fruit, and in consequence from its demand, is the inferior condi- 

 tion in which it is sent to market on account of not being prop- 

 erly sorted and packed. It is no exaggeration to say that if this 

 were done, and only half of the fruit sent to market now shipped, 

 the returns would be as great if not greater than those now re- 

 ceived. Its market value would be increased, its keeping quality 



