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Several years ago, conditions among the apple growers 

 in our locality were especially bad. Nearly all of the crop 

 was disposed of to local buyers Avho made their own price. 

 This price the grower had to accept or let his apples rot in 

 the cellar. Under this method the farmers were bidding 

 against one another, always working to their disadvantage. 

 and playing into the hands of the buyers. When a lot of 

 apples consisted of several varieties, the price was usually 

 fixed at the figure offered for the least desirable kind. The 

 grower would sell to the buyer who would pack the largest 

 number of barrels from the lot, throwing out as undesirable 

 the smallest number. This, of course, resulted in a very low 

 standard of packing. The few farmers who consigned 

 their apples to the commission houses in the cities were no 

 better off. .Ignorance of commercial practices and market 

 conditions resulted in the returns being no better than for 

 apples sold to the local buyers. Cases are on record where 

 the transaction resulted in a complete loss. The returns 

 received for apples disposed of under this system — or, bet- 

 ter, lack of system — were so meagre that it is little wonder 

 that the trees received only casual attention. There was 

 little incentive for a man to prune, spray, cultivate, and 

 generally improve his orchard when he could receive little 

 more than the cost of production no matter how good his 

 fruit. 



It is not my purpose to enlarge upon conditions. Most 

 of you are familiar with the case of the farmer as an inde- 

 pendent unit, without knowledge of conditions, trying to 

 sell his crop. I shall, rather, try to show you what one 

 small body of men have been able to do through organiza- 

 tion. The first step in advance came with the appearance in 

 our State of representatives of English receivers of apples. 

 These men were desirous of getting Maine apples on the 

 foreign market, and competed with the local buyers for the 

 crop. One house in particular sent its representative into 

 our section year after year, encouraging the farmers to 

 export their apples, and pointing out the possibilities of the 



