38 
Mr. McNeill’s address was so profusely interspersed by illustrations on a trellis on the 
platform as to render it impossible for the reporter from his notes to give a transcript 
which could be understood by a reader). 
Mr, Reap.—The heaviest crop of grapes I ever saw was upon a lot of Niagara 
vines in the County of Kent, Michigan, and the man who had them pinched off the 
summer new growth at the second bud, or thereabouts, above the fruit, immediately 
upon its setting. He practised that throughout his whole vineyard, and the fruit — 
developed largely, and the leaves grew to twice the size of those upon the vine left to 
grow free, It seems to me that with the Concord it would be equally good. 
Mr. McNeiui.—lIt is a question of cost. 
Mr. Reapv.—This gentleman has probably got back all the cost in the increased crop 
of grapes. 
BEST MODE OF MARKETING GRAPES. 
The Presipent.—Mr. M. Pettit, of Winona, will take up this subject. 
Mr. Perriv.—The best mode of marketing grapes is a rather difficult question to 
deal with, when considered from the fruit-grower’s standpoint, as much depends upon 
the distance from the market, the requirements of the market, and so on, which must 
be studied by the growers themselves. Samuel Miller, writing in Popular Gardening, 
says: ‘The man who shall devise a plan whereby a man shall get what he earns by 
growing fruit will deserve a monument.” Iam not a candidate for that monument, but 
there is a great deal in the remark worthy of consideration by the man who grows fruit for 
profit. As most of us know, carrying companies and commission men take about one- 
half the receipts, while the grower has to almost beg for the other half. In none of 
the products of our soil is the difference between what is paid by the consumer and the 
amount received by the producer so great as in the case of fruit. This may be partially 
accounted for by the perishable nature of fruit, and also the channels of trade through 
which it flows. Care in picking is of great importance with grapes. Pickers who are 
too careless and lazy to lay grapes in a basket, but drop them in like potatoes, should 
not be allowed in a vineyard. As arule women and girls make the best pickers ; they 
handle more carefully, and display more taste in making them look neat. You must 
please the eye of the buyers, who judge by appearances, and keep your packages neat 
and clean. For the commission market use the best baskets, and let the color of the 
leno correspond to that of the fruit. In shipping for dessert purposes, let nothing go in 
the basket but what you would eat yourself, or put on your own table for your friends. 
Shipping green grapes has cost the grape growers of Ontario thousands of dollars, and 
has done more to glut the markets than any other cause. Growers, in haste to make 
money, have allowed their vines to overload. This has caused the fruit to be poor in 
flavor and late in ripening. Then to secure the early high prices they are picked as soon 
as fairly colored, which has done more to disgust people with using grapes than all other 
causes. [ venture to say that one-half of the grapes grown in Ontario are picked and 
marketed before they arrive at the state of perfection. Another cause of overstocked 
markets is changing from one market to another to try for high prices. Montreal and 
Toronto are our two largest distributing centres, and when Montreal reports high prices 
and good demand, shippers send to Montreal. The consequence is that the market there 
is overstocked, and Toronto being neglected the tide turns there and prices go up and 
the same thing it repeated. If every grower would ship to his nearest and best market 
regularly certain quantities every day, they would would work off at higher prices and 
give better satisfaction to the consumers, who would receive daily good fresh fruit, and 
there would be better satisfaction throughout. Another mode of marketing grapes, not 
always profitable, is consigning them to commission firms or merchants who start business 
with the spring birds, who distribute large quantities of shipping tags throughout the 
fruit growing sections and quote better prices than the old established firms. 
(Q.—What sized baskets are usually used ? 
Mr. Perrit.—Ten and twenty pound baskets are used in our locality for the bulk 
