12 BULLETIN 266, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



limited way, and the practice is becoming less common. Competi- 

 tion has become so keen among canning factories that quality is now 

 a determining factor of success, consequently they are making an 

 effort to secure the higher grades of fruits and vegetables. It usually 

 is necessary to make contracts in advance if markets are to be secured 

 at these factories. The farmer who approaches the factory only 

 when he has unsalable surplus and the markets are glutted must 

 expect very low offers. 



Pickling plants use more vegetables than fruits, and a large part 

 of the cucumber crop is used in this way. Kraut factories, which in 

 many sections afford important markets for cabbage, may be 

 included under this head. 



Cider mills and evaporating plants may be said to be the real 

 outlet for cull grades of fruits, although even with these quality is 

 becoming more important. It is a truth too little understood that 

 low grades, while sometimes bringing fair returns, are in reality a 

 detriment to the market, because they tend to pull down the price 

 of the better grades. Farmers will do better on the whole to accept 

 a low price for these cull grades from the factory and keep them off 

 the general market, thus causing the general tone of the market to 

 strengthen materially. 



Wineries are most numerous in the western grape sections, espe- 

 cially in certain districts in California. Certain varieties of the Euro- 

 pean grapes are especially desired for wine manufacture, and the 

 wine industry at Fresno, Ca]., is a very important factor in the 

 grape-growing business. The grape-juice factories of New York and 

 Michigan are important factors in the utilization of native grapes in 

 the northern section. These factories are insisting more and more 

 upon a better quality, and cull grapes find a limited outlet. Apples 

 and peaches are the fruits most largely used in the manufacture of 

 brandies and cordials by the distilleries, and these are now insisting 

 upon at least a fair quality. 



These industries have become vital necessities in the fruit sections 

 on the Pacific coast and probably will be the determining factors 

 between profit and loss. While the need of such outlets has not been 

 forced upon the attention of eastern fruit growers to the same extent 

 as in the West, nevertheless there is room for much study and develop- 

 ment^ this field. One of the main principles in successful manu- 

 facturing is the utilization of waste materials, and this principle is 

 no less important in fruit growing than in manufacturing enterprises. 



SALES THROUGH MIDDLEMEN. 



Although direct sales from producers to consumers have their 

 advantages, nevertheless it is true that most car-lot quantities of 

 farm produce must be sold through wholesale distributing agencies, 



