PROCEEDINGS OF TTIE SUMMER :SIEET1NG 39 



THE BUSINESS PART OF BERRY-GROWING. 

 BY MR. M. A. THAYER OF SPARTA, WIS. 



There are certain principles that underlie and form the basis of all suc- 

 cessful business. The right application of these principles make the suc- 

 cessful merchant, banker, manufacturer, mechanic, professional man, and 

 the successful berry-grower also. 



The fruitgrower should combine the leading principles and practices of 

 almost all other successful business. He should possess the tact and 

 taste of the successful merchant in the selection and display and sale of 

 his goods. He should imitate the banker in his attention to details and 

 the absolute accuracy of his accounts; the successful manufacturer in the 

 close economy of producing and selling his products; the mechanic in the 

 skill and energy of his work, and the professional man in intellectual 

 power and thought. 



Berry-growing consists of a great number of details. At the same time 

 it is a business requiring more skill and downright good common-sense 

 than any other vocation in life. 



The first step is an application of scientific knowledge to determine 

 the constituent parts of the products to be grown, the elements of fertility 

 in the soil, and the best method of supplying the same. Before building, 

 manufacturing, or producing anything, we should understand the ele- 

 ments or materials that enter into its construction, and the amount of 

 each. 



We should appreciate the great difference in soils and their adapta- 

 bility to growing certain crops. It is then our business to combine such 

 elements and materials at the least cost and in the most perfect form for 

 our use. 



As water is the chief element in all fruits, we should most thoroughly 

 understand its preservation for use of the plants by the various methods 

 of preparing, mulching, and cultivating the soil. 



The second step requires clear business judgment in selecting a loca- 

 tion and its special adaptation of surroundings to our wants. Soil, slope, 

 altitude, drainage, labor, shipping facilities, and markets are all elements 

 that enter into successful fruitgrowing, w'hich you can not safely over- 

 look. 



The gathering and packing of berries is of greatest importance, and the 

 management of pickers on a large plantation requires considerable execu- 

 tive ability. 



The selling of fruit to best advantage requires highest order of business 

 talent, and fortunate is that community having a well-organized society 

 with a good agent or board of directors by whom all products are dis- 

 posed of either through reliable commission men or by direct shipments. 

 This is especially true of small fruits. The absence of an organization 

 for this purpose places upon the grower the greatest and most serious 

 responsibility of the fruit business. 



It is evident, from returns from sale of berries at the present time^ that 

 there is either a great over-production of the kind and quality placed on 



