204 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Prof. J. W. Clark — Make your arrangements for transportation 

 with the carriers beforehand, and don't wait till the crop is half sold. 

 As an experiment in packing, I took six barrels of apples; three I 

 assorted, making two grades, two barrels of No. 1, one barrel of No. 

 2 ; the other three I barreled without assorting. Then I went to a 

 dealer in town and told him I wanted three barrels of apple deliv- 

 ered at the depot ; his apples were as good as mine when they were 

 on the trees ; they were at the depot when I got mine packed, and I 

 sent them all to P. M. Keily, St. Louis, and told him to sell them just 

 as if he had a car load of each kind. When the returns came, the 

 first three barrels averaged $2.10 each; the second three, $1.80 ; the 

 three from the dealer, $1.40. They said that they examined every bar- 

 rel : "Your No. 1 and No. 2 were in perfect order, the No. 3 were 

 ruined in handling." Bad packing is one of the drawbacks. I don't 

 think the fruitman who has apples to ship will find any fault if he 

 ships them right. 



C. C. Bell — I agree with the Professor as to packing apples; there 

 is all the difference in the world in the methods. Some men make too 

 many barrels, putting in everything but the tree. I don't say that the 

 commission men ever rob us, for they are all honest ; they do have to- 

 dump a good many barrels. I have found transportation a great 

 trouble. How can we get apples to the consumer at such rates that 

 the people can eat all they want ? 



Henry Speer — I don't think it is necessary for me to offer any ex- 

 cuse for not touching upon this transportation question; I don't feel 

 equal to the task. Two years ago I shipped two car loads of apples to 

 Texas, one to Houston, the other to north Texas. The cost of ship- 

 ping to Houston was $45, to north Texas $60, making $15 more for the 

 shorter distance than for the longer. Either the one was too much or 

 the other was too little. There was something wrong. 



A. Ainbrose — I think we have brought out all the more important 

 points. I don't know but that we had as well consign some of our 

 shipments to the grain dealers as to some commission men. For there 

 is a class of commission men who try to live without labor at the ex- 

 pense of the producer. Commission men of good standing should 

 have our trade. 



