94 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



barrels for Alaine for the season of 1913-14. The early reports 

 from other sections showed that the decrease in production 

 corresponded very closely with our own, especially in the winter 

 varieties. Only two states in New England, namely Rhode Is- 

 land and Connecticut, showed an increase over last year, and 

 Illinois was the only big fruit producing state which showed 

 any great increase. The Canadian apples, with which we come 

 into closest competition in our foreign shipments, were about 

 the same as last year. 



GRADING MACHINE. 



With the increased interest over the entire country in fruit 

 sorting machines, it was considered wise, by the Department, to 

 buy a machine and give the fruit growers in the state an oppor- 

 tunity to see for themselves the advantage of such apparatus. 



The type of machine decided upon was the Schellenger Fruit 

 Sorter. This machine is being used in the West with especial 

 success and promises to be a valuable asset to the large fruit 

 producer. 



The plan which was adopted to get this machine before the 

 largest possible number of growers was to hold public demon- 

 strations with some of the active fruit growers' associations. 

 As the machine itself was very bulky and required some sort 

 of engine power to operate it, it was not practical to hold a 

 long series of demonstrations. Two such meetings were held, 

 one 'with the Oxford Bears Fruit Growers' Association at the 

 farm of John D. Long, Buckfield, and the other ait the farm of 

 Harry Bearce, Hebron, with the cooperation of the newly 

 formed Indian Head Fruit Growers' Association. 



These meetings, coming as they did in the height of the pick- 

 ing season, did not have a very large attendance, although about 

 125 different ones saw the machine work at these two places. 

 It was the purpose to show the machine in actual operation 

 with full crew and this was done in both places in such a way 

 that the apples as they came from the orchard were emptied on 

 to the machine and kept moving until ready for the car. The 

 cr€ws, while never having worked with such a machine before, 

 did good work. With the large handicap of inexperience all 

 those who worked in the packing crews pronounced the ma- 



