94 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



you will be surprised to see how quickly it will cease to be a luxury and 

 become an absolute necessity. Teach them that a fruit diet means clearer 

 heads, cooler blood, and better equipoise of brain and brawn, and will save 

 in many cases its cost in doctor's bills. Bear in mind it is keeping people 

 everlastingly eating that develops a home market. I wish to emphasize 

 that part of Mr. Coryell's paper where he refers to clean packages. 

 Make the fruit look as neat and attractive as possible. Personal appear- 

 ance, too, goes a great way when you are calling on customers. The fruit 

 should be delivered direct to the family and it must not be mussed by 

 rough handling. I had a fruit wagon built with side springs nearly seven 

 feet long. It rides as easy as a boat. No matter how fast I drive, my 

 fruit is never " jumped " or bruised. The wagon is handsomely painted 

 and lettered with gold and provided with a large gong-bell so I can let 

 people who are not regular customers know I am in the neighborhood, and 

 regular customers decide on what they want before I get to the door. I 

 provide each regular customer with a properly printed card which they 

 bring to the door and have their order charged and pay weekly. Women 

 don't usually have change and would go without fruit if they had to pay 

 down; besides, making change takes a great deal of valuable time. You 

 will need to win the confidence of your customers. When you have done 

 this you will find it a big stock in trade. Never sell anything to a cus- 

 tomer that is not just what he thinks he is paying for. Keep posted on 

 all matters pertaining to fruit, and be prepared to explain all the latest 

 points in canning, and see that they are supplied with an abundance of 

 each kind for that purpose. Exercise your skill as a salesman and you 

 will soon hear more about getting fruit to supply the home market than 

 of finding a market for what you grow. • 



Mr. Bird: But often there is a surplus of fruit and one can not keep up 

 his price. Indifferent growers flood the market with inferior fruit that 

 depresses the price of all grades. 



Mr. Rice: I know a man who sold largely of berries to dealers in town. 

 It would often happen that such fruit would be abundant and of 

 slow sale. So he put in a small dryer and practiced replacing with fresh 

 fruit any of his own which became at all stale in the dealer's hands and 

 drying the latter. That relieved the market and he made money on the 

 dried fruit. 



Mr. Garfield: I sell nothing at retail. For years I have sold exclu- 

 sively to two firms and never taken money from any of their customers 

 except through them. So, in times of glut, they help me out. Dirty pack- 

 ages are the bane of Grand Rapids. Hollanders buy the empty boxes and 

 cases and refill them so long as they will hold together. I have tried to 



