23 



knows liow to grow apples. The farmer means to be honest 

 but he is going to put in every apple that will possibly pass 

 for a No. 1 apple. I saw a man yesterday who had paid 

 75 cents a dozen for apples from a fruit stand in Ne\\ Vork. 



A man who had about 5 acres of land in l>ori nida 

 tried growing strawberries for the market. He has been 

 so successful that he began shipping to New York aud grad- 

 ually the whole place was given over to strawberries. These 

 "are very carefully grown, crated, packed and shipped to 

 New York where he has a standing order for berries at 

 $1.50 per quart and in one year their strawberries netted 

 them $3000. 



With the best methods of culture there is bound to be 

 a small proportion of No. 2 fruit; with no culture a' all it 

 is mostly seconds and culls. The aim of all growers should 

 be to so handle their orchards as to produce as much as pos- 

 sible of the finest quality. This question covers very broad 

 ground. GroAvers feel that they have the right to sell what- 

 ever they can find a market for. Dealers claim lhat the 

 second quality breaks the market and takes the place of a 

 better grade. The speculators insist that this part of the 

 apple crop cannot be estimated, and therefore gives them 

 trouble. A large body of consumers say Ihey must have 

 this fruit because it is cheap and they are compelled to buy 

 it or none. 



There are four ways to dispose of No. 2 frui^ — sell it 

 as such, evaporate it, can it, or make it in'o cider vinegar. 

 Let us first consider what No. 2 fruit really is. The com- 

 mon practice of many is to make two grades — No. 1 and 

 culls. Anything that is too good for cider is called No. 1. 

 This is not honest grading. Look at the way in which Cali- 

 fornia fruit, not only apples, but peaches, pears, plums and 

 cherries, have come into eastern markets in recen years. 

 It is not due to quality, for with the exception of grapes 

 and Bartlett pears, California fruit does not compare in 

 quality and flavor wi'h that raised in New England. It has 

 pushed its way forward solely because of appearance and 

 packing, and packing includes grading. Orange boxes are 

 practically all the same size — yet half a dozen grades are 

 made of oranges solely on size. Because of this uniform 

 grading both as to size and quality, a box of oranges brings 

 as much as a barrel of apples. Side by side on 'he fruit 

 stand, and side by side in commercial markets the bes' ap- 

 ples bring as much, or more, than the best oranges. 



