EDUCATION-. 



39 



movement is certainly destined to awaken universal consent. 

 Many good growers still oppose the gift package, however, and 

 in order that the reasons for so doing may be preserved, a cir- 

 cular of protest issued to receivers and dealers in berries 

 early in the year by the Monmouth county (N. J.) Fruit Grow- 

 ers' Association, is given in full : "Having received notice that 

 certain dealers in berries refuse to handle berries shipped in 

 returnable crates, we, the growers of small fruits in Monmouth 

 County, N. J., do most emphatically protest against such action, 

 for the following reasons : 



"1st. All growers have a number of crates on hand. 

 These have cost considerable, and will be worth no more than 

 gift crates, thereby causing much loss. 



"2d. The expense of growing, picking, freight, cartage 

 and commission, with the additional expense of gift packages, 

 will force us to abandon the growing of berries, as the expense 

 will overbalance the profits. 



" 3d. In regard to obtaining better prices for fruit in gift 

 packages, we know positively, from experience, that it does not 

 follow, but that prices are controlled by the supply entirely. 



"4th. As to reduced freight, no transportation company 

 will make any reduction, as it really costs nothing to return 

 empties when the boat or car returns unloaded. 



" 5th. It is impossible to make a correct estimate of the 

 number of packages required to market the crop, and we have 

 found by experience that new crates are difficult to get after 

 the crop has ripened, thereby frequently causing heavy losses. 



"6th. That with all liberal allowances in favor of gift 

 crates we find that the proportion is as twenty to one in favor 

 of returnable crates, or in other words, that where it costs the 

 producer one dollar now it will cost him twenty dollars to fur- 

 nish gift packages." 



3. EDUCATION. 



In specific educational matters there appears to have been 

 no movement originating within the year in America. The 

 most important recent innovation in educational methods as 

 applied to agricultural instruction is the introduction of short 

 and popular winter courses in many institutions.* At the 

 Horticultural Congress in Chicago, discussions upon matters of 

 education took a new turn. Heretofore, the societies have 

 advocated and emphasized the importance of education in the 

 abstract, but upon this occasion Professor Trelease questioned 



*For a detailed discussion of farmers' institutes, societies and 

 university extension, see Annals for 1891, 137-152. 



