128 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



better than before — because of the property there, which they felt they 

 could not afford to let go. But where an association has no basis ox 

 cepl the organization with a dollar fee, when little troubles arise they 

 say they will not put their money there and refuse to do anything. 

 However, they are not all this way and a few of the fruit growers are 

 long suffering enough to put up with this kind of talk, the directors 

 stay by their guns and the outcome of it is in most cases that these 

 same ones will come back and in the end the results will be more 

 satisfactory because of the organization. But jnst the same, where they 

 have something tangible behind them, there has been more success than 

 otherwise. It has been quite noticeable over there than in the coun- 

 ties in which the best associations are formed, the property has gone 

 up. The largest number of our associations are apple growing associa- 

 tions, and are controlled by apple growing men, and all of the better 

 ones have no trouble whatever in selling their apples and getting good 

 prices for them. The effect of all this has been that the indifferent 

 ones at first have noted the results and they have fallen in line not only 

 to do better spraying, but give better care to their orchards generally 

 and the standard is gradually rising so that on the whole we think the 

 time is not far distant when every one that raises any fruit at all will 

 be enlisted on the side of the improvement. 



Then another reason why a better grade of apples has been put up 

 of late is that we have inspectors and packers who see to it that a better 

 grade of fruit is packed. Much has been said about junk pack — a good 

 deal has been said about this by the retailers and in many instances 

 the retailers themselves are to blame for this. This is particularly so 

 in regard to grapes, but what Ave are seeking for is to raise the standard 

 all along the line and uphold it and in this way establish a reputation 

 for a good pack of superior fruit, which will bring us repeat orders from 

 year to year. We feel very much encouraged in what has already been 

 done, for we have been able to hold the price and secure to our growers 

 one cent per basket more throughout all the northwestern district where 

 we have been shipping our fruit, and we have been able to get it with- 

 out any trouble. 



In this connection, I desire to say that we must not become discour- 

 aged because after you have formed an association your neighbor de- 

 sires to come in and be benefitted by it, even though he does not join the 

 association. Don't bar him out. Be magnanimous. Let him receive 

 all the benefits that the cooperation will afford, for he cannot long 

 partake of these benefits and not be encouraged to unite his efforts with 

 those of his felloAvs and in time will surely become a good working 

 member, and when he begins to show a spirit of improvement, you will 

 find it will be catching and that will help to raise the standard and so all 

 will be benefited proportionately. 



Then when it came time for us to purchase our supplies a few of 

 us in the beginning thought it would be advantageous to buy in large 

 quantities, and this we did. and it was decided that we would not draw 

 the lines on regular members of the association, but we would supply 

 any one who wanted to come in, whether a member of the association 

 or not. for the more we bought, the cheaper we would get it, and the 

 more advantage that came to those who bought, the more friendly it 

 would make them towards cooperative effort, and that is what we 



