THE LESSONS OF THE YEAR. 45 



THE LESSONS OF THE YEAR. 



By D. H, Knoweton, Farmington. 



Year after year the fact that Maine can grow the best of fruit 

 is shown at the various fairs held in the State, as well as by the 

 fine fruit one may find in the larger markets bearing the imprint 

 "Maine Apples." A practical question that presses upon the 

 fruit growers of Maine is this — What does the experience of 

 the year teach us? It is the interpretation of the year's teach- 

 ing to which we now devote ourselves. 



GROW WHAT THE MARKET WANTS. 



The most important thing, if there is such, is to find out what 

 the market wants in the way of fruit and then grow it. There 

 are some of us who feel that our own favorites are the fruits 

 that people should call for, and we have hard work to under- 

 stand that so far as the market goes it does not matter what the 

 growers' likes and dislikes in varieties may be. It is entirely 

 proper to raise for your own use the varieties you like the best, 

 but when you are raising apples to sell you must raise what the 

 buyer is looking for. This calls for all the more care, because 

 all buyers do not want the same variety. A variety popular in 

 one market will find few purchasers in another market. The 

 Northern Spy, properly handled, is one of the best selling apples 

 in the Boston market and we do not recall any instance in the 

 English market when these prices have been equalled. The 

 Yellow Bellflower, one of the best apples we can grow, will 

 command a high price in some of the Middle and Western 

 States, but it is not considered a desirable apple to send abroad. 

 It is not that the apple is not just as good when it reaches the 

 English market, it is rather that the consumers there want some- 

 thing else. So, then, it is for the grower to find out what kinds 

 will be most profitable for him to raise, and which of these are 

 the fruits that he can place to the best advantage in his markets, 

 wherever they may be. In determining this he must consider 

 his own location, for not on all farms can all of these be grown. 

 In this he cannot trust the man who is trying to sell him fruit 

 trees. Today the fruit growers of the State are paying dearly 



