Miscellaneous. 189 



knows the habits of insects and of fungus diseases and the means of 

 checking or averting their attacks, he is in a losing business. He cannot 

 take his fruit to market as formerly, for the centres of population have 

 moved far from the farm or vice versa, so he must consider the packing, 

 shipping and marketing sides of the business. 



Too often the grower of fruit sends his produce by an unknown 

 route, to an unknown people in an unknown market. The result is well 

 known, for it becomes a frequent topic of conversation with neighbors 

 how he is cheated by dishonest commission men in the city. Often the 

 farmer packs his fruit as well as he knows, often too, not as well as he 

 knows, but without a knowledge of the market and its requirements he 

 seldom gets a first-class price. 



Marketing is almost a science by itself. One can learn many things 

 about it from shrewd observations from the outside, but to really knovv 

 the business one must look at it from the inside. Few growers have the 

 opportunity to look on the market business from the inside, therefore they 

 have many painful experiences ; experience is a very good, but also a very 

 expensive teacher. Heretofore the trained experts of agricultural colleges 

 and experiment stations have given nearly all their attention to the prob- 

 lems of the growing of fruit to the almost entire disregard of the market 

 side of the business. Growers often tell me that they can raise good 

 fruit, but they often fail to market it profitably. Some growers claim that 

 there is an over-production of fruit. What he called over-production is 

 really under-distribution, for there can be no absolute over-production 

 while there are people hungry for fruit and ready to pay for it. 



RESULTS OF INSPECTION OF MARKETS. 



To Study the market and its conditions and attributes I made this 

 summer a trip to all the markets in our great northern cities. 

 I learned many things. I learned that the grower and the consumer 

 are at the extreme ends of the fruit business, and much too far apart. 

 The transportation companies must carry the fruit from the farmer to 

 the market and the commission man is necessary to sell it on arrival. 

 Very often these three parties are a triumvirate of discontent. My ob- 

 servations lead me to believe that it is because they know too little of 

 each other's methods, but each maintains that it is because he knows too 

 much of them. Each, at any rate, has an interest of the business that is 

 well worthy of investigation. 



The railroads have always been the scapegoat from both sides of the 

 business, and I cannot refrain from saying a word in their favor. Fol- 

 lowing the pioneers of commerce, the railroads have been the most active 



