56 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Another idea we have right within our borders a great many markets 

 that we do not know anything about. It is a very great surprise to 

 many people to know that during the whole peach season just past that 

 we were able in Traverse City to hold up the market of No. 1 peaches 

 to the top price. There were no first class peaches sold in Traverse 

 City locally, of in the little villages around there for less than ??1.00. 

 But when your friends from the South got in their work, we had to 

 work hard. Casinova peaches were sold in our region at 60c against 

 ours at .fl.OO. There are many people who want cherries and peaches 

 and there are many places where they can be sold if there were enough 

 people gathered together with one purpose, and send out some man to 

 do that thing for them. A case in mind — a man had a few hundred 

 bushels and took them up on the Northern Peninsula and got more for 

 them than he would have received in Chicago at the time. 



I am sure we can win out better with ten people than with one hun- 

 dred, because if we can handle the stuff so well, the other ninety will 

 be anxious to come in. Another thing — some of you possibly saw in the 

 "Country Gentlemen" recently, the story of an Apply Company. About 

 8 or 10 years ago twenti' or thirty farmers got together in the valley 

 where they were located in Nova Scotia and decided that they would 

 grow apples for shipment to England. When they wanted to make their 

 shipments, there were never any space in the boat. The buyers would 

 say, "I will have fifty thousand barrels space," and they took this space. 

 However, the farmers did manage to ship a few carloads, the next year 

 more, and now they have thirty companies in that organization — they 

 all pull together, the fifteen hundred members, and sixty per cent of 

 the apples now groAvn in that valley are shipped through this organi- 

 zation. The last year they were able to sell to their members 300 car- 

 loads of fertilizers at wholesale prices. You could not drive these fel- 

 lows out with a club. .Another of the problems that avc have to solve 

 is the matter of finance. They think you must show ready money at 

 once, and tliey will come and say "I want to be fair you know I do — 

 I sent ten bushels down to Chicaj^o and the rest went into the exchange. 

 I got fifty cents more a bushel than you got for me." 



I said to this fellow ''You poor silly fool — those fellows have done 

 this just simply to beat you. They would no more give you this amount 

 for a carload than anything at all. 



Now another point. There must be advertising. One company of 

 big apple growers in Idaho said, "We will allow the Association on its 

 note to take 5 cents a box on our apples for three years to use for ad- 

 vertising purposes and the fourth year his note will be redeemed." What 

 happened? They had |57,000.00 to go on and do their business with. I 

 would like to know Avhat would happen if we would all put 5 cents a 

 box or on a like quantity for three years into an advertising fund. If I 

 should suggest such a thing in Northern Michigan they would run me 

 out of the state. 



We must wake uj), we cannot hope to accomplis^i what is possible in 

 co-operative lines, until the people are educated and until those who 

 are sticking so tenaciously to old ideas are willing to sacrifice them, 

 and adopt new and up to-date methods. When any group of men or 

 women in any community are willing to get together and stand by an 



