Fruit-Growing Industries. 119 



Again, one must not expect a financial success every year. There 

 are good and bad yea.TS in fruit-growing, as there are in manu- 

 facturing or store-keeping. The fruit-grower should go into the 

 business, therefore, as a long-time or more or less permanent 

 undertaking, expecting to become more adept each j^ear. He 

 should then distinguish the type of market for which he desires 

 to grow. If he is to compete in the general open markets he 

 must work on a comparatively large base. The man who has 

 only a small area will generally do best in the growing of special 

 things — if he have sufficient skill — for personal markets. As a 

 people, we are not diverse enough in our fruit-growing. Too 

 many of us are aiming at the general, common market, — assum- 

 ing that we aim at all. It seems to me that the success in the 

 general metropolitan and export markets is to be more and more 

 secured by large-area fruit-farming, and that other fruit-farmers 

 must develop sufficient skill to raise choicer things for more 

 restricted and better markets. As a whole, fruit-growing is not 

 overdone, particularly if the foreign markets are properly encour- 

 aged and supplied ; but in particular places and cases it is over- 

 done. Some fruits are not capable of indefinite extension. It 

 seems, for example, that grape-growing in western New York 

 has reached the limit of its profitable development for the time 

 being. Grapes are a dessert fruit. They are not used to a large 

 extent inculinar}- preparations ; and there are few incidental or 

 secondar}^ products, — that is, they are not dried, canned, made 

 into jellies, and the like, to any' extent. Moreover, quality in a 

 grape does not show on the surface as it does on apples or peaches. 

 In apples, there is likely to continue to be demand for export, 

 and the demand for dessert apples is almost wholly unsupplied. 

 In fact, the demand of the world's markets has obscured the impor- 

 tance of the special markets. Of good peaches, pears, apricots and 

 berr}' fruits there is sufiicient supply only in occasional years ; 

 for even when the open market may be full, there are still per- 

 sons who are asking for a better grade for private use. All these 

 hints are given to indicate the fact that success in fruit-growing 

 is quite as much the hunting out of a market as the raising of 

 the fruit ; and the market problem should be clearly in mind 

 from the moment the plantation is planned. 



