446 State Horticultural Society. 



GET ACQUAINTED WITH THE CONSUMEE. 



Every grower of fine fruit sliould aim to get acquainted in a busi- 

 ness wav with his customers. I have a friend who grows superb berries, 

 and in every box he puts a ticket giving his name and the variety of fruit, 

 and in the largest type he says, 'Trice always five cents above the market 

 price." With berries selling at eight or ten cents ordinarily, he gets 

 five cents more, and that means a big profit. Can he sell them? Cer- 

 tainly. He sells more than any other grower in the county, and gets his 

 price. Then, too, his berries are so fine and large he gets them picked 

 for one-half cent lass a quart than others, and he makes it pay both ways. 



In the fruit growing of the future there must be a cutting down of 

 the acreage of the majority of the growers. They must grow larger and 

 better fruit, of greater beauty and higher quality, and the grower who 

 gets the closest in touch with the consumer will get the highest price. 

 Another thing will be the production on a tremendous scale by a few 

 growers, by companies, with certain lines of fruits, in certain localities 

 suited to them. The small growers might do better by co-operation, 

 perhaps, as to methods of packing and selling and transportation, and it 

 will bring more money to pay some specialist to place your products on 

 the market in more desirable shape. — J. H. Hale — Colman's Rural 

 AVorld. 



Now that the apple season has opened, the merchants find that the 

 grower has lost none of his cunning in the preparation of his fruit for 

 market. Every day, on Washington street we see barrels of apples 

 opened which present a tempting array of fine large, uniform, handsome 

 fruit on top; but when the purchaser digs down into the barrel, four or 

 five layers, what a difi'erence there is in the quality. Windfalls, small, 

 rough and wormy apples fill the center of the barrel. For the honor of 

 the fruit grower, we are glad to say that this is not always 

 the case and that there are some shippers who have pride 

 enough in their reputation to deal honestly in the matter of 

 packing of their fruit. Would it not be a good idea for the commission 



