HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



FARMERS' MONTHLY GRADING OF FRUIT 



PUBLISHED BY THE 



Hampshire County Trustees for Aid to 

 Agriculture 



STAFF 



Rolaiiil A. I'ayiif. County Agreiit 

 Mrs. Kditli It. l-reiu'li, 



H«iiiie I>elii<iiistratioii Ajjt'iit 

 Bena <;. Kriiaril. t'ounty Cltili A:;«'ii( 

 Mary C. O'l.eaiy, Clerk 



Office First National Bank Building 



Northampton, Mass. 



Entered as seeoiid class matter Nov. 9, \9\n. at the 

 Post Ofltire at Xorthamiiton, Massiichusetts, under 

 the Act of March 8, ISTii. 



*' Ncitire of Entry " 



"Acceptance for mailing at special rate of post- 

 age provided for in sectiim 1103, Act of October 3, 

 1917. Authorized October 31, 1917." 



Price, 50 cents a year 



Officers of the Trustees 



Edwin B. Clapp, President 

 Charles E. Clark, Vice-President 

 Warren M. King, Treasurer 

 Roland A. Payne, Secretary 



Trustees for County Aid to Agriculture 



Edwin B. Clapp, Easthampton 

 Charles E. Clark, Leeds 

 Clarence E. Hodgkins, Northampton 

 William N. Howard, Ware 

 Milton S. Howes, Cummington 

 Mrs. Clifton Johnson, Hadley 

 Warren M. King, Northampton 

 John A. Sullivan, Northampton 

 Charles W. Wade, Hatfield 



Continued from page 1. column 2 

 heavier application will give better re- 

 sults. 



Then his clover field was visited which i 

 had an application of acid phosphate and 

 muriate of pota.sh. On this field as near 

 a perfect stand of clover was obtained as 

 we have seen this year. On an adjoining 

 lot which was growing mostly Timothy j 

 and Red Top part had been top dressed 

 with nitrate of soda at the rate of 100 

 lbs. per acre while the remainder received 

 no fertilizer. Where the nitrate had been 

 three times as much hay as on the fer- 

 tilized part. Not only was the timothy 

 taller but there was far more bottom to 

 it. 



At Mr. Goodale's a field where alfalfa 

 was sown with grass and clover was 

 visited. Here it was pointed out that 

 insufficient lime caused the poor stand of 

 alfalfa. Ground Limestone at the rate 

 of one ton per acre had been applied be- j 

 fore seeding. At the end of the piece a 

 double do.se was applied. Where one ton 

 per acre was applied the alfalfa was 

 scattering and poor red top was the dom- 

 inating grass. Where the two tons of 

 lime.stone per acre was applied the clover 

 and alfalfa predominated. 



Attention was called to a fertilizer test 

 just started this spring to compare the 

 Continued on page C, column 1 



AND VEGETABLES 



standards and Definitions Benefit Both 

 Producer and User 



The unwisdom of the shipment of culls 

 of any kind to market as an abstract 

 question has never been denied. But in 

 practice, either through ignorance or 

 cupidity, unfit merchandise has been and 

 still is shipped, often long distances, to 

 go into the discard. Culls are far more 

 costly at their destination than they were 

 at the starting point. It has been a com- 

 mon practice in the eastern part of the 

 United States to "face" a barrel of ap- 

 ples. This means having fine, perfect 

 specimens at the head end so that when 

 opened up they present an attractive ap- 

 pearance. This is perfectly proper if 

 the apples below the facing are of the 

 same general quality. But until legis- 

 lation stepped in, it was too frequently 

 the case that the center of the barrel 

 was made up of inferior stuff. Florida 

 and Pacific citrus fruits used to be of 

 uncertain quality, and the apples of 

 Idaho and Washington used to be packed 

 in the same way that too much eastern 

 fruit now is. But these districts found 

 that the cost of this undesirable fruit, 

 while somewhat increasing city prices 

 for the better goods, fell most heavily 

 upon the shippers. This led to coopera- 

 tion, to standardization, and to laws 

 regulating shipments from this territory. 

 Today when a shipment of eastern apples 

 reaches England every tenth barrel is 

 opened and its contents poured out and 

 its price determined, not by the careful 

 "facings" but by the run of the fruit 

 in the middle of the barrel. Even if 

 half of the fruit is first class the other 

 inferior half determines the price the 

 package brings. This mepns loss, some- 

 times total, on the part of the shipper. 



But the consumer is hit and hit hard 

 by this same practice. The city house- 

 wife views with suspicion every basket 

 of berries and distrusts what may lie con- 

 cealed by the perfect berries at the top. I 

 She hesitates from a sad experience be- 

 fore placing an order for even those good 

 appearing fruits and it is a brave or un- 

 wise woman who dares to place an order 

 for fruits and vegetables by telephone, 

 and when she does it she manifests con- 

 fidence, not in the shipper but in her local 

 dealer. 



The citrus fruit growers and the apple 

 districts of the west have solved this dif- 

 ficulty by the establishment of grading 

 laws and the imposition of heavy penal- 

 ties upon those who do not conform there- 

 to. Slow and conservative as we in the 

 east are, dissatisfaction with our methods 

 are g:rowing alike in the minds of the 

 consumer and the producer. Some of 

 the more progressive of the producers 

 have adopted standards and grades for 

 their own goods with the result that their 



brands have occasioned a demand above 

 the ruling market price. One Massachu- 

 setts grower of asparagus states that in 

 1921 he received $1 .500 more for his as- 

 paragus because of its grade and pack. 

 That helps a few producers and the con- 

 sumers of the more wealthy type. But 

 to help all producers and all consumers 

 uniformity of pack under clearly defined 

 grades is essential. Thus the consumer 

 who wants the best can get it and those 

 who can afford something not quite so 

 good can purchase it and neither has to 

 take a mixture of all kinds in order to 

 obtain the desired quality. 



The adoption of standard grades forms 

 an intelligent trade basis for grower, 

 middleman and consumei', and reduces to 

 the minimum the cost of handling produce 

 from the faim to the home. It eliminates 

 the cost of transportation of worthless 

 stuff. It makes possible some utilization 

 of culls by feeding or otherwise at the 

 farm. When all fruits and vegetables 

 are graded and inspected orders may be 

 placed by telephone with the assurance of 

 receiving the grades ordered. Trading 

 by well established clearly defined grades 

 not only increases confidence in the 

 products offered in our local markets but 

 opens up export possibilities. 



The Division of Markets of the Massa- 

 chusetts Department of Agriculture is the 

 agency in this state that is working for 

 the establishment of grades and the 

 standardization of agricultural products. 

 Country wide interest is 4)eing manifested 

 in the grading and inspection of fruit 

 and vegetables. Even since July last 

 grades have been established for a long 

 list of fruits and vegetables in the states 

 of Colorado, Illinois. Michigan, Minneso- 

 ta, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South 

 Carolina and Oregon. Up to the begin- 

 ning of this year the .standard grading of 

 farm products in Massachusetts had not 

 progressed beyond the grading of apples. 

 The General Court have considered the 

 grading of tobacco, onions, asparagus, 

 potatoes and some other commodities. 

 The results in the way of legislation thus 

 far is an Act giving the Commissioner 

 of Agriculture of the Massachusetts De- 

 partment of Agriculture the authority to 

 investigate marketing the grading tobac- 

 co. A proposed measure authorizing him 

 to fix the grades and standards for 

 onions and to employ in.spectors to carry 

 the provisions in effect seems likely to be 

 enacted. 



The Division Markets in the New Eng- 

 land and other eastern states are en- 

 deavoring to work out in cooperation 

 with the Federal Government uniform 

 definitions, grades, and standards, so that 

 fruits and vegetables entering into com- 

 merce in the different states may be uni- 

 form. The work is new but as it is along 

 the lines of efficiency and economy, and is 

 designed to meet a keenly felt need, com- 

 paratively rapid progress is being made. 



