state pomological society. i9 



Marketing. 



Last, but by far, not least, is the question of marketing the 

 crops which we produce. This, in every branch of business, 

 requires the most careful thought. No matter what the product 

 is, the seller must know when and where to sell in order to get 

 the most out of the goods. Right here comes in cooperation. 

 Never before have we seen it so forcibly illustrated as the 

 present season. The small grower who has only a hundred 

 barrels or such a matter and tries to market them himself has 

 found that he was at the mercy of the buyer (not that the buyer 

 is dishonest, but he is out to make what he can for himself). 

 The prices ranged from $1.25 to $2.25 per barrel, according 

 to how many bidders there were for the lot. 



In communities where there is a good live Fruit Growers' 

 Association this condition has not existed. They have sold 

 their fruit through the sales manager, and by having a stand- 

 ardized pack, have been able to get the highest market price. 

 In every instance the association pack has sold at a premium 

 above the quotations, both at home and abroad. 



Only a few short years ago the first Fruit Growers' Associa- 

 tion was started in Maine and, in fact, in New England, by a 

 handful of men who fully believed in cooperation and had 

 courage of their convictions. From this small beginning we 

 have associations in several of the apple growing counties of 

 the state, and the Maine Pomological Society ever stands ready 

 to assist along these lines, believing it to be one of its functions. 



In previous years, the question of a pre-cooling plant at 

 Highmoor has been discussed, and it is coming up again for the 

 endorsement of this society, and a request that we use our 

 influence in securing an appropriation sufficient to erect a plant 

 at the Experiment Station farm. With a storage house of this 

 kind, the plant pathologist at the Experiment Station can study 

 the conditions which cause the scalding of the apples while in 

 cold storage, and if there is a remedy, he will be in a position 

 to work it out for the growers. 



It may be that some varieties can be kept in an ordinary 

 cellar as well as in cold storage and thus save the expense. 

 These are some of the problems which the Station can work 

 out better than the grower, and through their news letters, give 

 it to the people of the whole state. One of the many things 



