STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 105 



hold his fruit until spring, but that it is best for him to put himself 

 into such a situation that he can hold them if he thinks it best, and 

 the farmer above all others should keep himself informed in regard 

 to the market so that he may know when he gets a fair price offered 

 for his produce, and it is usually wise to accept such an offer rather 

 than to hold for extreme prices. 



In packing the fruit the first thing in order is to see that we have 

 good, clean barrels to put them in, and in m}' experience, if good 

 new barrels can be procured at from five to ten cents more per barrel 

 than the ordinary flour barrel it is policy to do so, for unless a great 

 deal of care is taken in cleaning the flour barrels, the fruit will be 

 dusty and will have a very dull and dingy appearance when opened 

 for inspection or sale, and usually there are more or less of the hoops 

 out of repair or missing and it takes more time to cooper them, and 

 finall}' the fruit will sell for enough more to pay the difference in the 

 cost of the barrels, but in using either old or new barrels great care 

 must be taken to see that they are perfectly clean and free from dust. 

 In putting in the apples I sliall simph' give you my usual way, and 

 my reasons for so doing, although I shall probabh' differ from many 

 of those present. I think it is the most practical and the best 

 method for me. I begin by putting in two layers of apples, stem 

 downward, said apples to be brighl, fair specimens, not the largest, 

 so that the barrel may have a presentable appearance that it may 

 attract the attention of the person looking for a barrel of apples. 

 You may say that those apples that are sent to P^urope are sold only 

 on their merits, a sample being turned out in sight of the purchaser, 

 so that it makes no difference whether the}' are faced or not, but we 

 must remember tliat they are not sold to the consumer in that wa}'. 

 The buyer in Liverpool will pay more for a lot of fruit that is slightly 

 inferior, take them as a whole but put up in an attractive form, than 

 he will for a better lot put up in a slovenly manner, that is, putting 

 the apples in all alike and pressing in the head. Now, when that 

 head is taken out the apples will present a bruised and homely face 

 to the purchaser, you may tell him that it is really better than it 

 looks, they are better as he goes down, but he takes the other barrel 

 just the same then after facing, the barrel is filled with good, sound 

 apples, not all strictly No. 1 fruit, for when j'ou warrant a barrel of 

 apples to be all strictly No. 1 3'ou have got a barrel of very fancy 

 fruit, and it should bring at least twice as much as the ordinarj^ quo- 

 tations. Therefore, I sa}- fill with good, sound fruit, and I have 



