APPLE MARKET INVESTIGATIONS, 1914-15. 11 



made from September 15 to December 5, inclusive, and the statements 

 of large apple dealers, the investigator in the Chicago market found 

 that approximately 25 per cent of car-lot bulk arrivals, equivalent 

 to about 350 carloads, and 10 per cent of the contents in barreled 

 shipments, equivalent to about 160 carloads, or a total of about 510 

 carloads of the apples received, were so poor in grade and quality 

 that they would not have brought freight charges had this kind of 

 fruit been received in straight carload quantities. 



Those farmers shipping apples to Chicago that season would have 

 saved the cost of their barrels and the packing, loading, and part 

 of freight charges had they eliminated the poor fruit. They also 

 would have relieved their market, thereby giving the good stocks 

 an opportunity to net a reasonable and profitable return. 



Similar conditions were found to obtain in Louisville, Ky., where a 

 large portion of the bulk apples received were bruised and covered 

 with mud or otherwise soiled, showing that the fruit either had been 

 blown off the trees or else had been shaken off by the grower. Such 

 apples also showed decay. 



In one instance the commission merchant to whom was shipped 

 a car of inferior York Imperial apples, which arrived at Louisville 

 about November 16, 1914, wired the shipper that he could not 

 handle them advantageously, and the consignment was delivered to 

 another dealer. The apples were sold "for grower's account' at 

 40 cents per 100 pounds. The railroad waybill indicated a total 

 weight of 19,000 pounds, and the statement of sales is as follows: 



Gr< ii-s sales, 19,000 pounds, at 40 cents per hundredweight $76. 00 



Freight $52. 00 



Commission for selling, at 10 per cent 7. 60 



Total charges 59. 60 



Net proceeds 16. 40 



It is seen that this sale netted the grower just $0.0863 per hundred- 

 weight, an amount which barely paid the cost of assembling the 

 fruit for shipment. Moreover, the purchaser of the car lost about 25 

 barrels on account of decay. 



Plate I shows the contents of one barrel of apples inspected and 

 regraded by the investigator in New York. The fruit was supposed 

 to be strictly No. 1 grade, 2\ inches minimum in transverse diameter. 

 The larger pile, representing about two-thirds of the barrel, were 

 (me to grade. The smaller pilo contained culls. The investigator 

 had no trouble in finding this barrel of apples, and could havo found 

 others just as poorly graded. The condition of the original pack 

 indicated ignorance, carelessness, or "sharp practice" on the part 

 of the packer. 



