No. 4.] STORAGE OF APPLES. 51 



THE STORAGE OF APPLES. 



F. C. SEARS, PROFESSOR OF POMOLOGY, MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL 

 COLLEGE, AMHERST, MASS. 



To aiiv one who will study the orchard industry of I^ew 

 England to-day, it is very evident that few branches of the 

 business stand in greater need of improvement than our 

 storage facilities. We have made and are making great 

 advances in the growing of apples ; there has been a marked 

 improvement in the packing of our apples (largely through 

 the influence of the New England fruit shows) ; and our 

 marketing methods are developing every year ; but in storage 

 facilities and methods there has been little advance and less 

 study. The writer is glad to see that the State Board of 

 Agriculture is disposed to begin a campaign for better stor- 

 age. We surely need it. 



The chief advantages of good storage facilities, looking at 

 the problem from the standpoint of the growers, are : — 



First, that it makes the orchardist relatively independent 

 when it comes to selling his crop. If the buyer knows that 

 the grower has no satisfactory place to store his apples, he 

 will naturally hold back in the, hope that the need of a prompt 

 sale will lower the owner's notion of what his apples are 

 worth. On the other hand, if both buyer and seller realize 

 that the apples are safe, that there is no need of haste in 

 disposing of them, the price is far more likely to be a reason- 

 ably profitable one to the man who grew the fruit. In fact, 

 good storage facilities put the transaction on the ideal plane, 

 — • perfect equality of buyer and seller. If they can agree 

 on a price, well and good ; if not, the apples can stay where 

 they are. This comfortable feeling of independence is worth 

 to the orchardist all that the storage will cost, and he gets 

 his additional price as a clear profit. 



