MARKET PREPARATION, TRANSPORTATION, STORAGE 261 



natural that this should have been so, for it is with produc- 

 tion that the grower is most intimately concerned and the 

 problems come home to him by personal contact. Only in 

 comparatively recent years has attention been directed to- 

 ward a study of the fundamentals involved in marketing, 

 problems just as vital to the success of the fruit and vegetable 

 industry as are those of production. 



It was not many years ago that fruit and vegetables were 

 grown only as secondary crops and marketed in towns and 

 cities adjacent to the farms. Now they are raised on a large 

 scale and some of the most perishable products are marketed 

 even thousands of miles distant from the point where they 

 are produced. It is, therefore, necessary, in this age of com- 

 mercial production, that each step of the process from the 

 growing of the product to its final sale to the consumer should 

 be thoroughly understood by the growers themselves. In the 

 pages which follow the problems of marketing will be dis- 

 cussed with reference to fruits alone; but it must be kept 

 in mind that what is said applies to vegetables as well, though 

 on a smaller scale. 



371. Growing and marketing. There is vital connection 

 between the conditions in the orchard or field and that of the 

 product when it is finally placed on the market. Poor care 

 in the form of inadequate cultivation or fertilization reacts 

 on the quality of the product. Improper pruning of trees 

 results in fruit of poor size or so marred by scratches that it 

 cannot be sold as a first-class product. Insufficient or too 

 much moisture affect the final flavor of the fruit unfavorably. 

 A season during which weather conditions are unfavorable 

 frequently produces a large proportion of fruit of poor quality 

 or appearance. 



372. The ripening process. The fruit is a storehouse of 

 food for the potential plant in the seed. This food is manufac- 

 tured for the most part in the leaves where it may be found 

 in the form of starch. Later, it is changed from starch to 



