148 STATE HORTICULTURA.L SOCIETY. 



pounded off the tree, and whether imperfect or bruised, is talcen to 

 market to be sold for what it will fetch. Fruit gathered in this manner 

 will not keep. Buyers understand this and guage the price they offer 

 the farmer accordingly. 



Apples, at least those that are intended for market or to be stored, 

 should be carefully picked and carefully handled after gathering. 

 Apples thus treated can be easily kept till the latter part of the winter 

 or early spriog, provided that one has a proper place to store them,, 

 and this brings me to the leading idea which I wish to treat of in this 

 paper : that is, how can the average fruit-grower provide an economical 

 and practical storage for his fruit whenever prices do not justify his 

 selling at gathering time. 



As a general rule the average fruit-grower can not erect or main- 

 tain a costly cold storage plant, and very few are so situated as to be 

 able to avail themselves of the advantages of a cold storage plant car- 

 ried on by others. In fact, I do not believe we need here in the coun- 

 try a cold storage plant, anyway. I am of the opinion if we have a 

 good fruit-house properly constructed, or a good, dry, well-ventilated 

 cellar, we can keep our apples till February, which will be fully as long 

 as it will be profitable for the average fruit-grower to hold. 



To show the profit to be derived from having a place to safely 

 store and bold our apples, it is only necessary to look at the course of 

 the market this present season. There is reported to be a very large 

 crop of apples all over the country this year. Everybody has been 

 predicting that the crop was so large that apples would go begging for 

 buyers and prices would rule way down. At gathering time it looked 

 as though this was going to be true. All those who were not prepared 

 to hold their fruit rushed it on the market for fear that they would lose 

 a chance to sell, and the local market was glutted and prices ranged 

 from 10 to 15 cents per bushel. As soon as the rush was over and the 

 surplus began to get out of the way, even with the reported large crop, 

 prices began to advance and now buyers are paying from 25 to 35 cents 

 and it is only the question of a short time before prices will reach 50 

 cents and over. 



Picked apples were sold this fall in an orchard near here at 12 

 cents per bushel, the buyer going after them. The same apples could 

 be sold now for more than double that price, but the grower was not 

 prepared to keep them and had to sell. This is no exceptional case. 

 The same thing occurs almost every year and it would seem as though 

 experience would lead fruit-growers to provide themselves with a 

 suitable place to store and hold their apples, especially when it can be 

 done at a comparatively low cost. It is not necessary to go to any 



