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: 
Gross sales, 19,000 pounds, at 40 cents per hundredweight.................... $76.00 
Rte LPP eye ee amin apne ap Sys egies Ys yar ao eee ee eN os Sle $52. 00 
Wommission for selling, at,10per.cent: 2... ...28. 022.2 Lessee tees: 7. 60 
Micralchiarscseeere tees WAC AOR) Hos ee ee 59. 60 
Netaproceed samara tye ena Ni a Ua guenaa ure ees Sls shale 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, 24 inches minimum in transverse diameter. 
The larger pile, representing about two-thirds of the barrel, were 
true to grade. The smaller pile contained culls. The investigator 
had no trouble in finding this barrel of apples, and could have found 
others just as poorly graded. The condition of the original pack 
indicated ignorance, carelessness, or ‘‘sharp practice”? on the part 
of the packer. | 
