102 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
March, 1917 
Some Thing's Wisconsin Horti- 
culture Needs. 
By Professor J. G. Moore 
(At Annual Convention) 
The first thing Wisconsin hor- 
ticulture needs is better fruit. 
We have been saying for some 
little time that Wisconsin can pro- 
duce good fruit. At every con- 
vention, we hear it said, “Wiscon- 
sin can produce good fruit.” Do 
you suppose that if you were to 
ask the people who have been buy- 
ing Wisconsin apples on the Mad- 
ison market that they would 
agree with that statement? They 
would not, at least if they had 
been buying the kind of Wiscon- 
sin apples that I have seen on the 
market, for by no means could 
such apples be classified as good 
fruit. Yet our people thoroughly 
believe that Wisconsin can pro- 
duce good fruit and I thoroughly 
believe it, and because we produce 
so much poor fruit, I say the first 
thing Wisconsin horticulture 
needs is better fruit than the ma- 
jority of Wisconsin fruit pro- 
duced at the present time. 
We have heard a great deal 
about marketing fruit. I will 
agree that marketing is a big 
problem, a very important prob- 
lem, probably the most important 
problem of fruit growing. At 
least, many people are inclined to 
say that the marketing problem is 
the greatest problem we have in 
horticulture today. We are criti- 
cised more or less for spending our 
time in talking about how to pro- 
duce a crop. Certain people tell 
us, “You have told us how to pro- 
duce crops for years and you have 
not said a thing on marketing. 
Now it is time to quit talking 
about how to produce and tell us 
how to market,” But I want to 
call your attention to one fact, 
namely, that the first factor in 
marketing is to have something to 
market. If you expect to market 
successfully 'any commodity, you 
have to have a commodity which 
the market wants and I do not 
care how many organizations you 
have, how fine your system of 
marketing is, if you do not have 
the commodity desired, you will 
not have a market, at least you 
will not have one very long. 1 
have said that the first tiling that 
Wisconsin horticulture needs is 
better fruit. I do not mean to in- 
sinuate that, there is no good fruit 
produced in Wisconsin. There 
are a number of men in Wisconsin 
who are not producing good fruit, 
and who are attempting to market 
that kind of fruit. 
The second thing which I think 
Wisconsin horticulture needs is 
more honesty. I have come to that 
point in my teaching, and I am 
coming to it more and more when 
I appear before the public, of say- 
ing things straight from the 
shoulder, of saying what 1 think, 
and it is because I believe it that, 
T say we need more honesty in 
Wisconsin horticulture. Of course, 
that, does not, apply J:o any one 
here. It is the fellow that is at 
home who should be more honest, 
for generally speaking, the man 
who has a sufficient interest in hor- 
ticulture to attend conventions, 
has enough interest to be honest, 
at, least, reasonably hcnest. Possi- 
bly I am not using the right term, 
perhaps T should sav be should 
use better judgment and more dis- 
crimination. That would be a lit- 
tle more pleasant, but I have not, 
been able to bring myself to use 
any other term for that method 
which we see in practice so much 
of putting good apples on the top 
of the barrels and putting culls in 
the center, except the word “dis- 
honesty. ’ ’ 
Now, why do we need more 
honesty? We need honesty first 
because in the marketing of fruit, 
a great many people put the best 
on top. I am not criticising put- 
ting the good fruit on top, at least 
put as good on top as you put in 
the center. What I am criticising 
is filling in the center with culls. 
I do not need to tell any of you 
who have watched the markets that 
this is done, and that it is done 
by men who are growing fruit in 
Wisconsin. We know it is being 
done in Michigan, I have heard 
other people say so. I have heard 
it said in our conventions about 
New York growers, but I have not 
heard it said theie about Wiscon- 
sin growers. Wisconsin growers 
are doing it, however, not the best 
growers, but there are too many 
growers doing it. Therefore we 
need more honesty. 
Now, you say, wliat is the me 
of talking to us about these things. 
What is the use of preaching to 
people who are not practicing cer- 
tain things, telling them this or 
that is the thing to do? You know 
it is very often said that the trou- 
ble with the churches today is that 
the preaching is done to the folks 
that do not need it. The folks 
that do need it stay at home. I 
am talking to people who do not 
need it. The people who need it 
are not here. But I am going to 
try to convince you that I am 
justified in saying it to you. IIow 
are we to secure tins" two things, 
better fruit and greater honesty in 
marketing? 
The first means of which I think 
of accomplishing this result is by 
education. Education, but how 
are we to educate? I will say first 
that at least a part of the educa- 
tion should fall upon two organi- 
zations. It, should fall upon the 
State Horticultural Society and it 
should fall upon the Department 
of Horticulture of the University. 
That gets both Cranefield and my- 
self. Education is the purpose of 
