286 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIliTY. 



currants in the bottom of the case and fifty cents deducted from the 

 sale price. 



Another party marketed 600 bushels of Wealthy apples put 

 up in barrels — they looked fine on top. The commission man 

 had a good customer who was willing to pay for a good article. 

 He purchased five barrels, the commission man delivering them to 

 his store. The next day the five barrels were returned. I hap- 

 pened t'o be present at the time and saw them. There was scarcely 

 a half bushel of good apples to the barrel and about one and one- 

 half bushels in each barrel that should have been kept at home and 

 fed to the stock. I asked the commission man what he would 

 do with them now. He replied, "Sell them on their merits, and 

 take the first offer that comes along." 



Now there is a great deal of this kind of marketing fruit. 

 It hurts the market, it hurts the consumer very much, and in the 

 final round-up it hurts the grower. 



There are fruit growers who put up their fruit honestly, and 

 when you see the top you know the whole package is tlie same. It 

 takes only a little time to establish a reputation in fruit packing, 

 and purchasers will buy without going t'o the bottom of every 

 package. I know fruit growers who follow the honest plan of 

 packing their fruit, and they always have ready sale, and quite 

 often their fruit is engaged in advance. I have a neighbor who 

 delivers his apples to the commission man on a guarantee ; his apples 

 are never handled over to see what is in the middle or bottom of 

 the barrel, neither do they have to stand around in the store until 

 they spoil before being sold. They sell quickly and at the top price. 

 So we see that there is satisfaction and profit in fruit marketing 

 when it is carefully done. 



Before leaving this subject another abuse of the home market 

 should be recognized that an effort may be made to correct it. In 

 the early fall when fruit is scarce and prices are good, the growers 

 all find it out about the same time. They immediately flood fhe 

 market with fruit of poor keeping qualities, and in a very short 

 time prices are away down and returns most unsatisfactory and 

 disappointing to the grower. Could not this disastrous result be 

 avoided ? So few growers keep in touch with the market, in 

 fact, they never go near the market to see what the supply and de- 

 mand are or to note the condition of their fruit after its delivery. 

 This custom is all wrong; the grower should take the time once or 

 twice a week to visit the market, confer with the commission men, 

 and if the market is being overstocked hold their shipments for a 

 few days until the market is cleared up. The fruit can be kept in 



