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MARKETING MUCK LAND CROPS 



it look at its best while you are putting it up, but there is nothing 

 you can do that will make celery appear stale any quicker than this 

 close trimming of roots. Trim reasonably close and wash clean. 

 Try this and see what your customers say. 



If you are shipping celery in carload lots, take the same care 

 against wilting in the field. If you are loading for cold storage, do 

 not cut unless the man is right there in the field. If you are loading 

 for yourself, don't select celery very far advanced in blanching, — 

 that with the heart just nicely started is at the proper stage. Well 

 blanched celery turns soft and pithy. Never harvest celery for 

 storage when it is wet. 



I don't believe we have adopted the proper crate for cold storage. 

 It is too wide. Everybody that has made this a study finds the out- 

 side of the crate nice and fresh, but when putting the hand into the 

 center of the crate, a handful of tops can be pulled off. They have 

 separated where the foliage begins because of heating. The cold 

 doesn't penetrate quickly enough. 



In regard to loading cars, by poor loading, we can spoil all our 

 labor of growing and preparing our crop in three or four days. The 

 average width of a refrigerator car is about eight feet two inches 

 or a little over. A crate twenty-four inches square is too wide when 

 loaded against the bunkers, — loaded four wide and three high, the 

 crates would fill the entire space, leaving no opportunity for air 

 circulation in the center of the cars. Every crate should be made 

 so that it will load to leave at least three air spaces not less than two 

 inches wide the entire length of the cars. We could realize more 

 money out of our celery if every grower took more pains in this. 

 I believe every grower should make his pack and grade perfect and 

 always have the same grade. Celery is known as Ix, 2x, and 3x. 

 Ix pack from seven to eight dozen to the crate when properly trim- 

 med. 



We are all talking about cutting out the middleman. It is a 

 splendid idea. I hope to see it work some day. But until that time 

 arrives when growers will trust one another and unite in one grand 

 organization that will have distributing stations in our cities where 

 goods will be put up in proper shape, give the man who comes into 

 your field to buy your celery a square deal. Put your celery up in 

 the best shape you can and try to get it delivered to his place of 

 business in the best possible condition. 



