Winter Meeting. 189 



He is first approached by the unscrupulous tree peddler, who 

 knows even less than he does of the real practical conditions of 

 orcharding', but who, like the promoter, does know how to sell some- 

 thing he does not possess to some one who does not want it, and so 

 leads him into his first mistake by palming off on him a lot of high- 

 priced worthless trees and varieties, and years after it is too late, 

 he discovers he has bought just what he doesn't want. 



Having spent most of his money with the tree man, he now ex- 

 pects to be more economical, and selects his location several miles 

 iCrom his shipping station because land is a little cheaper, never 

 once thinking that every mile distant from the loading station adds 

 five dollars per acre for each full crop to the expense of hauling, 

 besides more or less damage to the fruit by hauling over the usually 

 rough roads. ♦ 



Now, his theory is for intense cultivation; but at this stage 

 his enthusiasm and finances are low, and he turns his attention to 

 his hogs or some quick crop, and his orchard to the care of the 

 weeds, borers, grasshoppers, renters or such other cultural methods 

 as are found most convenient, and when harvest time comes he is 

 ready for his final and fatal mistake — his failure to successfully 

 market his crop — which is the most important feature of his or- 

 chard career. 



It has been aptly said that the successful orchardist takes one 

 lesson in growing and two in selling, and I believe more people are 

 in error on this point than all others, as shown at a meeting of 

 nineteen Mercer county apple growers, held in Princeton this fall ; 

 not one having any knowledge of packing and markets, and, with 

 no storage facilities, they were readily at the mercy of the specula- 

 tive apple men. 



The problem of transportation bears the same relation to or- 

 charding as does the hauling from orchard to station, and should 

 come under control of the producer, to the extent that freight rates 

 be reduced to a minimum, because they, the producers, together 

 with the consumers, instead of the middle men and merchants, in 

 the end pay the freight, and as such we are surely at fault who ac- 

 cept without murmur the present condition of high and discriminate 

 rates, for with their reduction to an equitable basis, the demand for 

 our fruit would be greatly increased and the question of marketing 

 practically solved, and since it is within our province and power to 

 correct this deplorable condition, I ask, shall we or shall we not? 



