Situiiiicr Meeting. 57 



Venus quarreled over it. Then I saw Jupiter, the chief of all the gods, 

 appoint Paris, the handsome, accomplished and valiant, to settle the dis- 

 pute and make the award. He gallantly awarded the prize of beauty, 

 which was a Ben Davis apple, to Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, 

 whose favorite fruits and flowers were the poppy, myrtle, rose and 

 apple. So you see my friends not only in this world of ours, but even be- 

 yond the skies the handsomest woman takes the cake, or which is better, 

 the Ben Davis apple. 



Now from the experience I have had in both lines of business, I have 

 come to the conclusion that it is the best policy for the apple grower to 

 sell his apples, if possible at harvest time, if he can obtain a fair price, 

 or consign them to reputable, responsible commission houses. The ex- 

 pense of holding and the risk of dribbling them out during winter and 

 spring in small lots to Tom, Dick and Harry are matters for serious 

 thought and consideration. I know that some of the apple shippers are 

 too particular when they try to purchase from the apple grower, by de- 

 manding only the select fruit and leaving him with two-thirds of his 

 crop to take to the evaporator or cider mills. Now this is all wrong, and 

 the reason why many apple growers have become apple dealers. 



If the apple grower had his own way about it there would be only 

 No. I apples, but unfortunately he can't control the elements and other 

 conditions incidental to apple growing. 



Hence, no matter how careful he may be, a large per cent of his 

 apples will not class as No. i, and he must find a market for them better 

 than the evaporator or the cider mills. My opinion is that a good de- 

 mand can be created^ in this country for No. 2 and even No. 3 apples, 

 among people of moderate means, if the apple shippers would take hold 

 of it in the right way. And when they do take hold of it and have them 

 packed in a proper careful manner, indifferently packed, "farmers' stock" 

 will no longer glut or spoil the markets for them. In other words, 

 my advice to you apple shippers is, instead of trying to buy only one- 

 third of a grower's apples, buy his whole crop in so far as it is merchant- 

 able, and pay him for each grade what it is worth and no more. I am 

 aware that some apple shippers do this, but in the majority of cases they 

 will talk only about fancy stock, and will leave the grower with the bag 

 to hold, which usually results in the latter becoming a competitor of the 

 former. Treat the apple grower right in this matter and you will serve 

 your own interest in the end. It is my opinion that if the apple crop in 

 the United States is handled in the right way, by proper packing, judi- 

 cious marketing and wise distribution among all classes of people, there 

 can be no over production and ruinous prices for many years to come. 



