STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 87 



commission men .ire (loinf?. It is true, they have not reached per- 

 fection in their work; neither have we in the discharge of our duty. 

 It is with a view of calling attention, in a friendly way, to existing 

 abuses, that I have selected the topic I have for this paper. 



I am fully aware of a deep-seated prejudice that exists in the 

 minds of many fruit growers towards middle men; that they regard 

 them as (using the mildest possible term) a necessary evil. That 

 they are necessary w'e will not doubt; that they are evil, may, or may 

 not, be the result of a variety of circumstances. These circum- 

 stances depend, not wholly, Ijut largely, upon our part of the work 

 as fruit growers. 



More men succeed fairly in growing fruit than do in disposing 

 of it to good advantage afterwards. This is largely due to bad 

 picking and packing. Your trees and })lants nuiy have done their 

 full duty, the fruit abundant and quality fine, but you pick it in a 

 careless and slovenly manner, and pack it after the same style, if you 

 do not do even w^orse by trying to slip in all the inferior and defective 

 specimens in such a way as not to be seen by the purchaser, thus 

 clearly exhibiting a willingness to deceive. Of course you will con- 

 sult economy and use second-hand packages, unsightly, uninviting, 

 and often rickety. In this condition you present your fruit to the 

 transportation companies. There is nothing in the general appear- 

 ance of such packages that entitles them even to the respect of an 

 ordinary railroad man, and of course it w^ould not be reasonable to 

 expect him to respect that which the owner has shown so little re- 

 gard for, and he don't^ either. Your fruit reaches its destination, 

 after an eventful voyage, in the condition it left you, if not much 

 worse, a condition wholly unfit for a first place in any respectable 

 market. Add to this a consignment to some second-chiss commis- 

 sion man in some back alley or obscure street, because, perchance, he 

 proffers to sell your fruit at a low rate of commission. Result: un- 

 satisfactory; railroad companies and commission men thieves and 

 rascals. Listen to the siren song of a new and enterprising candi- 

 date for favors, who has concluded to go into the commission busi- 

 ness "for luck." Send next consignment to him. Part of the 

 packages fall to pieces in transit, and the remainder fall among 

 thieves at the end of the line. Disgusted fruit grower advertises 

 fruit farm for sale " at a sacrifice," perhaps preferring to invest the 

 proceeds in Chicago options. This picture is not overdrawn, but is 

 painted from real life. 



Another, whom Providence has rewarded for diligent toil with 

 a bountiful harvest, handles fruit carefully in every particular. All 

 defective specimens are rejected. No fruit is included in a package 

 that w^ould not grace his own table on any important occasion. Infe- 

 rior specimens are disposed of in some other manner. Only new 

 and clean j)ackages are used, and they made secure and safe from 

 breakage. The proprietor's name and address, with the variety con- 



