634 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



However, the pro<;rossive c;i-()wer need not conclude that all is 

 ruined. C'on-espondence with one of the best known lolailers in 

 riiiladel]»hia has bronp:ht the in formation that eastern frnit of 

 really first class qnalil y and hijjh jijrade ])ack will brinji; jnst as high 

 ]trices as the western fruit. Nor does the individual need to hold 

 back until the whole fruit industry is leformed. A man will very 

 soon gain a reputation and will receive the reward of his prudence 

 and foresight. 



Are we not then ready to conclude that when the producers of 

 the east pack straight, face for a neat finish, sell seconds as seconds, 

 and feed the culls to the pigs, that it will speedily regain its place 

 in the markets of our cities? 



Much has been said during the past few years legarding efficiency 

 and scientific management. The cry of the factory manager has 

 been for the increased use of machinery, for the elimination of un- 

 necessary motions in handwork, and for the saving of time and 

 energy at every turn. This means nothing more nor less than the 

 lowering of the cost of |)roduction, particularly in respect to labor. 

 There is no field in which a little attention to the princi])les of 

 scientific management will yield greater returns than in the marketing 

 of produce. The preparation for market is the greatest single item 

 in the cost of any of our commodities. Time, that factor in crop 

 production which is every year becoming costlier, may be gained or 

 lost at a hundred points, many of them insignificant, but in the 

 iseason amounting to hundreds of dollars. 



To illustrate this, let us glance at some of the ideas that have 

 been worked out by a Western New York grower, in handling his 

 Sipinach crop. His operations are in no way unusual, and schemes 

 similar to his can be developed for practically all conditions. In 

 the first place, the labor force which is used in cutting is well organ- 

 ized. A large gang works back and forth across the field, keeping 

 together anrl leaving a swath of baskets. The baskets that are used 

 for cutting are cheap, and a very largo number are employed. Tf 

 a wagon is delayed for a few moments, there is no halting in the 

 work. The wagons that are used for hauling from the field are of 

 the low-wheeled type, equipped with a broad, flat bed, and built for 

 short turns, a type that should be used almost universally for work 

 on the farm itself. The spinach is hauled to market in large cubical 

 crates, holding about 500 pounds each. Four of these boxes are 

 placed on a wagon which goes into the field. They are filled, and the 

 wagon is driven off the muck to a position beneath a large trestle. 

 The team is hitched to another wagon, and another four boxes are 

 Kmiilarly loaded and brought to a place beside the first wagon. The 

 trestle carries a chain hoist similar to that which is used in the litter 

 carriers of the dairy barn, and in this way the boxes from one w^agon 

 are transferred to the other. A two-ton load is then ready to go to 

 the cannery. Formerly, celery crates w^ere used to handle the crop, 

 but the present method is found to mean a very appreciable saving, 

 not many cents on each load, but amounting to a great deal in the 

 course of a season. One notable feature of this place is the excel- 

 lent farm road. It is not a fancy road, it is not paved or macada- 

 mized, but it is always good. The secret of it is good grading at 

 first, the use of a scraper at the beginning of t|ie feasor to give it 



