446 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



at one of our institutes a man got up and talked about the dairy 

 industry. He told what the cow had done for Minnesota, he told 

 how many creameries and how many cheese factories there are in 

 the state, and what a great future the dairy industry had before ft 

 in this state, when a farmer stood up in the audience and said, "Say, 

 Mister, can you tell us how long a cow ought to stand dry?" That 

 was a simple question, but they want to know about those things. 

 They don't care anything about the glittering generalities of any 

 industry, but they want the plain, practical facts that will help them 

 understand the work. If we give them theories they will not do 

 them any good, but they need and want the cold, hard facts. There- 

 fore, I say, let us spread this gospel of horticulture and carry on the 

 good work with our utmost effort. (Applause.) 



THE HANDLING AND MARKETING OF APPLES-FROM 

 THE STANDPOINT OF THE GROWER. 



E. A. SMITH, LAKE CITY. 



The nurserymen are apt to leave the apple tree as soon as 

 it is sold to the customer, but their duties do not really end there. 

 If the farmer has bought loo or more trees, naturally he will have 

 apples to sell. A market must be provided, and the average farmer 

 being comparatively helpless when he gets outside of work with 

 which he is thoroly familiar, is at a loss to know wliat to do with 

 his fruit, so it often goes to waste, his profits turn out a loss and he 

 becomes a discouraging element to others. 



The apple growers of the United States are placed at a dis- 

 advantage in not having any generally recognized or legal standard 

 for packing their apples. Some horticultural societies have pre- 

 sented schedules describing different grades, but they are more 

 in the nature of recommendations than authoritative. One dif- 

 ficulty in establishing a standard grade is that one year the apple 

 crop may be generally inferior, and if the yield is small the apples 

 that would be rated as seconds in a year of abundance would be pass- 

 ed as firsts in a year of scarcity. Canada successfully enforces an 

 arbitrary inspection of fruit, and all fruit exported to foreign coun- 

 tries is not only inspected but must bear the government brand. 

 The result is that Canadian fruit takes a higher rank and brings 

 a higher price than fruit sent from the United States. In sub- 

 stance, the Canadian "Fruit Marks Act" is as follows : The fruit 

 shipped must be uniform throughout and just what it is represented 

 to be, ninety per cent of it, at least, being free from bruises and 

 other defects, and properly packed. It is considered a false repre- 

 sentation when more than fifteen per cent of the fruit is inferior in 



