GRADING FOR PROFIT 79 



supplying direct to the consumer : one desires the best 

 of its kind that can be procured, and is prepared to pay 

 any reasonable price ; another requires a cheap article, 

 and is not so concerned about high quality provided he 

 is not offered a lot of rubbish. Grading enables the 

 producer to meet both classes : he pleases his customers, 

 utilises his goods to the best advantage, and conducts 

 his business upon a firm and satisfactory basis. It is 

 both honest and economical, and no one can give the 

 matter a fair and thorough trial without being convinced, 

 as we have long been from extended practical experi- 

 ence, that judicious grading is one of the essentials of 

 successful market gardening which demands the attention 

 of every up-to-date grower. 



Packing Garden Produce 



Market growers who are situated within a short road 

 distance of the centres they supply are in a position to 

 cart the greater portion of their produce without the 

 expenditure of much labour upon packing. But the 

 number so placed, and who can depend upon the local 

 demands to absorb all they grow, are comparatively 

 small : the majority have to look far and wide for their 

 markets ; due protection for their produce in transit 

 consequently requires the best attention. For all the 

 choicer fruits, flowers, and vegetables, the ordeal is a 

 severe one : first, there is the journey by road to the 

 station, which in some districts is alone a great trial, 

 the removal to trucks or waggons, and a period of some 

 hours in the train, with the added joltings of sundry 

 shunting operations ; the transference at the terminal 

 station again to carts or vans, the unloading at the 

 market, and the final loading into the retail fruiterer's or 

 greengrocer's conveyances. It is astonishing that after 

 going through such a process of " preparation" for the 



