STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 67 



THE APPLE CONSUMERS' LEAGUE. 



By E. P. Mayo, Waterville. 

 Mr. President: 



The subject assigned me for discussion at this hour, the Apple 

 Consumers' League, is to my mind one of the greatest impor- 

 tance from the apple producers' point of view, for next in 

 importance to the production of good merchantable fruit must 

 be the successful marketing of it for the high dollar. 



We have been educated to look to Europe for the best market 

 for our fruit, and the time was when we could do this with safety 

 and assurance, but owing to the abuse of the foreign market 

 by unscrupulous packers and shippers, that market has gone, 

 for the present at least, and until we reassure the English buyer 

 and consumer by again adopting honest practices in sorting, 

 grading, and marking our products we must look elsewhere for 

 an outlet for much of our choicest fruit. 



For various reasons a home market is much to be preferred 

 to exporting our goods. But how can we get a satisfactory 

 home market? I will answer that query as best I may in the 

 limited time at my disposal. 



To commence with, the best way to get a satisfactory home 

 demand for our apples is to see to it that we produce a better 

 article than has ever been put on the home market. It should 

 be uniformly good, not good in spots and occasionally satis- 

 factory, but true to grade and stencil, always and ever. So 

 that the stencil will be a guarantee of the quality as the size of 

 the package is a guarantee of the quantity. 



With this point made certain and secure we now approach 

 the real subj-ect matter assigned for me to discuss briefly — the 

 Apple Consumers' League. 



It must be admitted of course on the start, that no one ever 

 attended a meeting of this much advertised organization, nor do 

 we know where their place of business could be found. While 

 its membership is a good deal smaller than it ought to be. not- 

 withstanding its great respectability, we have great hopes for 

 its ultimate success, both in point of numbers and the scope of 



