104 



MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 228 



Prices 



A study of prices received for apples of different grades shows that graded 

 fruit averages more than 25 cents a bushel above ungraded fruit. Local prices 

 are more valuable to the fruit grower than a general average, and although 

 price infonnation was obtained for all fruit sold, it is not possible to present 

 here all the figures obtained. Two sections, consisting of two towns in Frank- 

 lin County and three towns in the Nashoba area, have been chosen as typical. 



In the Nashoba district apples are commonly sold in boxes and the per- 

 centage of graded fruit is higher than in Franklin County, where most apples 

 are sold ungraded and packed in barrels. Sales in the Nashoba area are 

 mostly on commission in Boston, within easy hauling distance. In Franklin 

 County the most common method of sale is to country buyers who come to the 

 orchard, make whatever bargain they can with each grower, and buy the 

 apples at the farm. These differences in method are undoubtedly factors 

 which contribute largely to the differences in price reported from the two 

 sections. 



Table 3. Average per Bushel by Grades of Leading Varieties, 

 in Two Selected Districts, 1924 



Three Towns in the Nashoba District 



Two Towns in Franklin County 



The accompanying chart. Chart 13, presents the comparison of the prices 

 and the proportion of graded and ungraded fruit sold of each of the four 

 leading varieties, Baldwin, Gravenstein, Mcintosh and Wealthy, for the two 

 sections under consideration. It will be noted that the average prices in the 

 towns of the Nashoba area run uniformly higher than in the towns of Frank- 

 lin County for similar varieties and grades, (cf. Table 3). These differences 

 are caused by accessibility of market, metliods of sale, quality of fruit, and 

 the amount of grading done, but it is obviously difficult to determine which 

 has the greatest effect on price. 



Baldwins, of which 59 per cent are graded in the towns of the Nashoba dis- 

 trict, returned an average price of $1.26 per bushel. In the two Franklin 

 County towns, with 41 per cent graded, this variety brought $1.01 a bushel. 

 This margin of 25 cents represents the average difference in price for all 

 grades between the two areas. 



