114 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 



but they got woefully mistaken. On account of the immense 

 crop of apples there seemed to be a perfect craze to get rid of 

 them somehow. Everybody, including commission merchants 

 and buyers, were more or less infected with the excitement. In 

 consequence shippers lost heavily; farmers either singly or club- 

 bed together lost heavily, and one Boston firm I know of went 

 all to smash on account of wild investments in apples. 



POINTS TO OBSER\'E. 



In shipping apples to a foreign market as much, if not more, 

 depends upon the state of the market as in the condition of the 

 fruit, whether your returns will be large or small. If the mar- 

 kets are glutted or even overstocked, good sound stock arriving 

 in good condition must necessarily sell lower than it otherwise 

 would, and if a large proportion of the stock arriving out is soft, 

 poor, or inferior, your stock, however good, will be affected and 

 sell still lower. Therefore in shipping fruit the markets must be 

 carefully studied from week to week, and, ir possible, from day 

 to day. Several other things must be considered. Freight 

 charges, insurance, primage, dockage, cooperage and commis- 

 sion charges altogether count up quite a sum, varying from 

 $1.25 to $1.50. In addition to this you will observe that much 

 of the fruit arrives out slack, wet, slightly wet or open, and when 

 that is the case it will sell from one to four or five shillings less 

 per barrel than if marked tight. Getting there tight makes a big 

 difference in the price. I can get more for number two apples 

 arriving there tight than you or anybody else can for choice 

 number one's if they arrive there slack. A large proportion of 

 the fruit sent this season has arrived there slack. 



The great secret — in reality there is no secret about it — of suc- 

 cess in shipping fruit either to a foreign or to a domestic port, 

 is to know how to pack that fruit in the most attractive manner 

 and solidly. So much has been said and written upon the sub- 

 ject of packing that it seems almost useless to say more. In 

 packing first-class fruit, select the largest and highest colored 

 apples to face the barrel; then place about one-half bushel of 

 those nearly as good close to them and fill up with first-class 

 fruit only. Some make but one grade, when, after observing 



