No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 673 



ti'ibutiug center. ' Certain varieties of apples are quick sellers in 

 Philadelphia, but would meet iudiiterent reception in New York. 



Special emphasis ishould be placed on the grading, packing and 

 handling of vour fruit. Appearance often sells it. Mark a No. 1 

 apple No. 1, with your name, and make it stand for something. If 

 you must barrel inferior fruit, have the courage to pack No. 2s as 

 2s, and so brand them. Remember in this connection that it costs 

 just as much for the empty barrel; it costs just as much to pack and 

 ship seconds as first. You Avill not make a fortune the first year, 

 nor probably in the second. But persistence in some such course 

 will eventually count for much, to your permanent profit, whether 

 you sell independently, or co-operatively; whether you cater to the ' 

 local wants of your home county seat, or a distant mining or manu- 

 facturing center, or whether you plan to place your fruit in the large 

 city markets. 



THE PRESIDENT. — I am very sorry we have had so small an 

 audience to hear this valuable paper. The marketing of fruits is 

 one of the weak points. 



MR. YOUNGS. — Over on the shores^of Lake Erie we have a co- 

 operative fruit growers association; that is, a co-operative crop 

 growers association. It is a large undertaking, but the great belt 

 of crop growers belong to that association. Of course, there are 

 some houses there who inaintain agents all through the season. 

 There are from seven to ten thousand carloads of crops shipped in 

 our town. 



MR. HALE. — I have been very much interested in this paper, and 

 believe in the co-operative associations among the growers of any- 

 thing in the soil, for I have worked with them for the last thirty 

 years. The gentleman in this most excellent paper covers a few of 

 the wT'stern associations, and shows that they have been most suc- 

 cessful. There is one instance that I know of where they gave the 

 secretary twenty-five dollars a year. Farmers are never willing to 

 pay like other commercial people, who are willing to pay for ser- 

 vices — for their help. Every co-operative association we have 

 had in this country, has tried to run it so cheap that it has run 

 itself into the ground in a very short time, I am told. I don't 

 want to reflect any upon anyone, or to name anyone tonight, but I 

 have been in contact with some or the commission men, the first 

 class men, who tell me that they get very little from the associa- 

 tion because you have to graft some of its officers. That informa- 

 tion I liave had in the last two years from some of the best com- 

 mission men, that you cannot get the fruit from them because you 

 have to graft the officers. I hope the reporter will not put that 

 down because it will hit some one. So much for that in a general 

 way. But it don't work out somehow with the man owning only a 

 bit of laud; he does not want to co-operate with anyone. 



The suggestion brought out by the paper in relation to the Cana- 

 dian fruit market, and our friends in Maine waiting and going to con- 

 sider it in another year, when legislation is obtained, comes to my 

 mind. Mr. President, and brother fruit growers, ought we not to 

 be ashamed that we don't know how to do it without having legis- 



