I.NDIA.VA IIOJMUJLLTLKAI- SOCIETY. 35i 



THE HOME MARKET FOR STRAWBERRIES-HOW TO BUILD UP 



AND MAKE PROFITABLE. 



ELMEU G. TUFTS, AURORA, IND. 



The home market is usually the best, and if rightly managed may be 

 built up and in time made the most profitable. Much of the success 

 along this line, the same as all others, will depend, however, upon the 

 grower himself. He must be a business man, employing business 

 methods. He must be honest in all his dealings. He should have a love 

 for the business in which he is engaged, be a close observer and have 

 enthusiasm and energy enough to carry out his determination to success. 

 His motto should be: "Better and finer fruit each year, placed upon the 

 Miarket in an attractive style." 



In order to build up a home trade the grower must first study the 

 market and learn the kind of berries it requires and then produce what 

 the people demand. In some markets the larger berries only sell in a 

 small way. No one would attempt to grow a large acreage of fancy 

 berries and undertake to market them here. On the other hand there 

 are customers in some cities with the means to pay the price for extra 

 fancy berries that will leave the producer something besides experience. 



Having studied the market and learned what the people desire he 

 should produce the best that can be grown and much of the difficulty of 

 marketing Avill have been overcome if he gives close attention to the rest 

 of the work. Fine berries carefully put up are always in demand at 

 good prices. The nicer the berries the better the price. The aim should 

 be to secure a reputation for selling the best berries that come to our 

 market and a trade can be secured that will grow each year. It takes 

 time to build up such a reputation and is valuable to any grower, much 

 more so than the few extra dollars we are sometimes tempted to secure 

 ^l)y means that never was intended to build up the trade. Let us take 

 care of our reputation and we are guaranteed profitable financial returns. 

 People are always looking for the best that their money will purchase, 

 and if you have superior fniit they will always call for it. If the 

 people's demands do not require that Avhich is the most profitable to the 

 producer he should grow a large amount of what they think they want 

 and a small quantity at first of that which pays best. If put up in an 

 attractive form he will be able In time to create a demand, aftef which 

 the quantity can be Increased each year. 



'J'he successful grower for any market must prepare to handle the 

 crop before It ripens as there is no time afterwards, and time is money 



