1C2 State Horticultural Society. 



jured, let us take advantage of it at the time and not again lose 

 out. 



That the crop was a good one in Illinois is true, but it has not 

 proven to be more than a fair crop and such as v^e should aver- 

 age one year w^ith another. Many growers, scared by the thought 

 that the crop was too large, let their fruit go for little or nothing. 

 In many instances the cost of harvest was equal to the proceeds 

 obtained. This was not true in New York. The grower there 

 had been up against the cry of "wolf" so often that he was not 

 frightened by the rumors of large crops and low prices in the 

 west, and the buyer who hung around all fall waiting for these 

 reports to sink in was obliged to pay the New York man his price 

 for the fruit before he got it. The experience teaches us that, 

 instead of letting our crop go to waste or selling it for little or 

 even nothing, that we must learn to harvest it ourselves, and if needs 

 be, to place it in storage. Even those who found no storage and 

 held on to it, sold later on to good advantage. It is safe to assume 

 that good fruit is always salable at not less than 40 cents per bushel 

 by Thanksgiving time any year, and it is equally true that the 

 grower who sets his price at not less than $1 per barrel for the 

 fruit in the orchard will be able to sell it at that price, and if he 

 does not, that he will be able later to sell it for more ; because he 

 cannot afford to sell for less. Apples at a less price are making the 

 grower but little if any money. 



What we need is better organization, locally and nationally. 

 We need a strong national organization that will collect careful and 

 reliable statistics of the crop and disseminate same among the 

 members. I say members, for the collection of statistics and their 

 elaboration costs money, and we should not expect this information 

 unless we pay for it. There is one such organization as this, the 

 American Apple Growers' Congress. Every fruit grower, or at 

 least every commercial apple grower, should, for his own informa- 

 tion and protection, become a member of this organization. T. C. 

 Wilson of Hannibal, Mo., is the secretary. Then we should not 

 stop at this. We should organize local associations for the pur- 

 pose of obtaining better facilities for shipment, for packages, and 

 for the sale of the fruit. At the annual meeting of the national 

 organization referred to last August, many buyers and several ex- 

 porters were in attendance upon the meeting, and, as a result, 

 many thousands of barrels of fruit were bought and exported from 

 the sections which were represented at the meeting by some wide- 

 awake grower. Let us then organize for commercial as well as hor- 

 ticultural purposes. It is one of the lessons of the year. 



