14 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



operation in such a way that the strength of the solution is based en- 

 tirely on the reading of hydrometers. In the manufacture of sulphuric 

 acid,^ you buy 00, 52 or 00 degrees. It stands 00 degrees on the hydrom- 

 eter and all contracts are based on hydrometer reading. We would 

 never think for one minute of not using the hydrometer at all times all 

 through the operation. You can take mud and water and it won't stand 

 zero although the liquid is zero. The mud will make it stand at a higher 

 figure. The reading of the hydrometer will be based on clear solution, 

 and it is very easy to get it to read wrong by holding your wet finger 

 on the reading, and that extra weight will make it sink down. But 

 with the top dry, and the temperature somewhere normal, the change in 

 reading is very slight. If you get your home-made mixture with a lot 

 of sediment and then take' a reading, it will be entirely wrong. That 

 sediment will make it appear to be stronger than it is. A good deal of 

 sulphur goes into soluble forms, and it is possible that you can use ten 

 pounds of sulphur and wind up with one pound. All the rest is gone. 



MORE MONEY FOR THE APPLE CROP. 



(prof. II. J. EUSTACE^ MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.) 



There are about as many ways of disposing of the apple crops in Mich- 

 igan as there are of growing it and they all have their advantages and 

 disadvantages that are worth considering. 



To enumerate some of these ways would be to mention the method 

 of lumping all the fruit in the orchard for a stated sum. A sharp 

 bu3'er can size up the yield of an orchard and tell what it is worth to 

 him and then size up the grower and tell what he will have to give to get 

 the fruit. 



This is what might be called a. crude way of disposing of fiiiit and you 

 do not get all that it is wortli, but it has the advantage of letting the 

 grower out of a lot of work and when a man has other crops, he may 

 1)6 justified in selling this way, but after a few experiences, it will gene- 

 rally be found an unpopular way of selling fruit. 



A more common way is when the fruit is sold by the barrel at a stated 

 price — so much for No. Is and No. 2s — to include all or any certain 

 varieties. This deal is modified in many ways, the buyer to funiish the 

 barrels and do the packing and the grower to do the hauling. The 

 grower sometimes furnishes the barrel and in some cases, the grower 

 makes the barrel and sells it to the buyer. An eager buyer is open 

 to any kind of deal that will give him a desirable crop at a profitable 

 price. This method is common in New York but probably more so in 

 Michigan, It has the advantage of relieving the grower of a lot of work 

 especially where the deal is so arranged that he only has to haul the 

 barrels or to do the picking aand hauling and it gives him money at 

 picking time. It is, however, the same old story of some of the value 

 he has accumulated going into the hands of another. 



Considerable of Michigan fruit is consigned to commission men in large 

 cities. Results from this method have been various. When fruit has been 



