40 The Principles of Fruit-growing 



Location with reference to market. . 



Time has overcome distance. Market facilities are, 

 therefore, determined more by transportation facilities 

 than by nearness to the market itself. To have the choice 

 of two or more means of shipping — as by rail or water, or 

 by more than one railroad — is a most desirable feature in 

 the location of any fruit-farm. This is not only because 

 competitive rates may be secured, but also because more 

 and various markets may be reached. The choicer the 

 fruits and the greater the desire to reach personal markets, 

 the more should the grower prize any means that will 

 enable him to reach a number of markets. Such a grower 

 will desire to locate within easy reach of a number of 

 cities or large towns. He will not care, perhaps, to grow 

 what may be called the staple varieties, leaving that effort 

 to those persons who are farther removed from points of 

 consumption. It would seem to be unwise, therefore, for 

 the fruit-grower who has access to several or many unlike 

 markets to attempt to copy the methods of those in the 

 West or South, who must grow largely of one thing and 

 in sufficient quantity to command concessions from trans- 

 porters and salesmen. Fruit-growing can never be reduced 

 to a dead-level of ideals and practice. In one place great 

 specialization may be most profitable, but in another 

 place generalization — ^the extensive growing of general- 

 purpose varieties — may be best. 



The cost of haulage to the shipping-point or to the 

 market is a most important item, and one that is 

 often overlooked. It is expensive to haul peaches or 

 berries 5 to 10 miles, particularly if the roads are 

 indifferent. This cost alone may forestall any profit in 

 the enterprise. 



