136 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



not only the specimen dropped but other fruit already in the basket, and the fruit is all 

 bruised up and not in prime condition to go into tlie package, and the general markets 

 of the world will not accept it as first class fruit. If you insist on your help picking the 

 fruit carefully, the same as it is done in the west, your help will quit work and insult you 

 and demand what is coming to them. 



In order to successfully compete with the western fniit we must secure a better class 

 of labor to gather and pack our fruit. From three years' observation in California, the 

 horticulturists there largely depend on the Japanese and the Chinaman to cultivate and 

 trim their orchards and gather their fruit. The Chinaman, it is clauned, are honest, 

 when you employ him he becomes your friend, he becomes a permanent fixture on the 

 farm, he is steady, reliable, a ready imitator, sober, and usually saves his money and is 

 a respectable citizen. He usually takes a personal interest in his work and reasons that 

 his own prasperity depends on the prosperity of his employer, and that depends on him 

 doing his duty towards his employer. There are over 400 millions of people in China, 

 which is densely populated. The regular day's wages for a workman, boarding himself, 

 is only seven cents a day in American money. Chinamen are good farmers in a crude 

 way, on a small scale, and it is claimed they are the best truck growers or gardeners in 

 the world. They have cultivated the same soil for thousands of years and still it retains 

 its fertility. They usually prefer to live in small houses hj themselves and do their own 

 cooking. Their food is very simple, which consists largely of vegetables, rice, fish and 

 fniit. They can live and compete with any class of laborers in the world. Sufficient 

 laborer can be induced to come to this country at a reasonable wage to help the Amer- 

 ican agriculturist or horticulturist do their work. He is not particular, he will do house- 

 work. The most of the housework in California is done by the Japanese and Chinese at 

 the present time, even the cooking is done by them. 



During the fall of 1903, when apples were selling for 60 cents a barrel for No. 1 fruit in 

 the orchard, I had my Bald\)ins picked and carefully packed them myself and carried 

 them in cold storage until about the middle of May. These apples were packed in three 

 grades, fancy, No. 1, and No. 2. The fancy brand was packed strictly fancy. The No. 

 1 I put in some fancy to sweeten up the No. 1, but no No. 2, and in the No. 2 I put 

 in some No. 1, but none poorer than No. 2. We used baskets lined with cloth to pick in 

 and apples were laid in the baskets carefully. 



One barrel opened on the pressed end showed 7 specked and rotten apples, and one 

 specked on the faced end. The second barrel there was two rotten apples on the pressed 

 end, all sound on the faced end, and the third barrel the apples on both ends were sound. 

 Mr. Randle claimed they had kept the best of any Bald\^ins he ever saw so late in the 

 spring, and he took them without sorting over. He paid me S3. 50 for the fancy, No.l 

 and No. 2. I sold some to John Blessed & Sons, and Mr. Blessed recommended the applet 

 to Mr. Randle. Mr. Randle afterwards informed me the only fault he had with the fruit 

 there was not enough of it; that the fruit sold itself, and it was a pleasure to handle it. 



I have purchased and eaten all the different kinds of California grapes I could find in 

 the California markets, and have never found a grape as good as a well grown Michigan 

 Concord, Delaware or Catawba. 



We must continually spray, cultivate, trim and nourish our fruit trees, carefully pick 

 and honestly pack our fruit in a way so it will be attractive and pleasing to the eye, in 

 order to Compete with our competitors in the markets of the world as well as our own 

 local markets. When this is done in an up-to-date manner Michigan apples, although 

 they will not show color as fine as the Colorado, Idaho or other western grown fruit, from 

 their superior quality will compete and sell with any fruit in the market or markets of 

 its class in the world. 



In the discussion which followed this interesting talk the question as to what consti- 

 tuted a fancy, No. 1 and No. 2 grade of fruit was the nucleus of a lively debate which 

 showed that the foremost growers of the state differ widely thereon — a fact which argues 

 for the necessity of a standard to which both buyers and sellers can have recourse in case 

 of trouble in defining grades. It was the opinion of many who expressed themselves 

 that at this very point much of the discredit our fruit has gained on the general market 

 during the pa-st few years has come because one grower will pack the best of his fruit as 

 fancy which may only grade as No. 1 when placed beside that of a more careful grower, 

 and all this he may do without a thought of dishonesty. It was the opinion of Mr. Geb- 

 hardt, of Oceana county, that the quality of Michigan fruit will recommend it to the 

 general market if the grower will handle it well. Mr. Ward suggested that the regular 

 practice of -facing the packages with the choicest specimens be reversed and instead put 

 the poorest there, while the best be placed in the center. Keep the fruit nearer to the 

 grade above rather than trying to squeeze in fruits that are near or quite fitted to go in 

 the grade below the one being packed. Finding superior fruits than those expected is 



