144 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY- 



The handling of the grape crop, as it has been done in the past, was a 

 premium upon the using of small sizes of basket — there was no question 

 as to whether it held nine or eight or ten pounds. The basket was cut 

 down so that the last size would hardly hold six pounds of grapes. While 

 I haven't talked with all the buyers, I have with some, and I don't know 

 of a buyer but was dissatisfied. I think there is no question but St. 

 Joseph and Benton Harbor grow as good grapes as anywhere, and can 

 command as good prices, when we are in position to guarantee commis- 

 sion men good packing. For a number of years the New York people have 

 used a basket commonly known as the eight-pound basket. Here in St. 

 Joseph we have been foolish enough to cut our own throats by using 

 smaller sizes, guided principally by the manufacturers, who are willing 

 to make as many packages as possible; and I wish to urge the fact that 

 there is an immense crop before us, and already a strong combination has 

 been made by the manufacturers on the price of baskets. There is neces- 

 sity for putting our product into larger instead of smaller packages, and 

 let buyers know they can come and buy in car lots, and that there will be 

 uniform packages and packing — packed in the best manner possible. 



Mr. Sherwood : One of the advantages of organization, it seems to me, 

 would be that the product of all the members of the association would 

 be guaranteed to be in a certain size of package and packed in a certain 

 way. 



TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSITION OF FRUIT. 

 BY PRESIDENT MORRILL. 



I believe we are approaching the time now, very rapidly, when the 

 state of Michigan will need much better facilities for distributing fruit 

 than at present, and a considerable improvement in transportation, in 

 certain directions, especially rail transportation. Our Grand Kapids 

 friends have done a good deal and we have done little here, owing to our 

 good boat service and the convenience of our market, Chicago. Alto- 

 gether, I am impressed with the idea that that very convenience, the easy 

 way we have of getting rid of our fruit by boat service and commission 

 consignment, has led us into a rut which, I fear, will swamp us. There 

 are men in this room who have sold their fruit to much better advantage 

 by reason of their having gotten out of this very rut of which we are 

 talking. This year the ordinary market will be running over, within 

 thirty days, and from then until snow llies, if no accident befalls the 

 crops. Many places and many means of distributing the fruit will be 

 neglected, because we will wait until the last day. The strawberry crop 

 is but a foretaste of what there is in store, and I think the situation is 

 about the same all over the state. Now, it does seem, if we can not organ- 

 ize, we must begin to do a little thinldng for ourselves. There is no use 

 saying that the proper way is to have a good, safe organization in which 

 each man can do his part honestly and fairly and trust each of his neigh- 

 bors with at least half as much confidence as the commission man he 

 never saw. That seems to have been the difficulty in this and nearly 



