178 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
August, 1918 
der from consumers, and there are 
very few retailers left in the busi- 
ness today who are not reliable. 
The grower makes his own price in- 
stead of taking what the buyer of- 
fers. Sometimes in case of early 
apples where I wish to hasten sales 
1 give a free barrel with a club or- 
der. This works like magic. 
A traveling man, a perfect 
stranger to me who saw my apples 
at a store in Hayward, sent me or- 
ders from reliable firms, of his own 
accord. I placed several hundred 
barrels through him. As 1 wished 
to thank him in some substantial 
way I wrote him to see if he had a 
home and family somewhere and 
could use a barrel of apples. This 
is the answer I received: 
Oct. 22, ’ll. 
Mr. A. K. Bassett, 
Baraboo, Wis. 
Dear Mr. Bassett: — 
1 have your favor of the 18th 
inst., and 1 wish to thank you for 
your kind offer to send me a bar- 
rel of apples. 
I have rather enjoyed sending 
you the orders I have picked up, 
and my customers have all praised 
your nice fruit, and good packing. 
Also wish to mention the fact that 
they appreciate the way you call 
their attention to second grade 
fruit, and the reduction you al- 
ways make in cases of this kind, in 
the price. 
Enclosed please find my check 
for $8.50 for two extra barrels of 
apples. I want one cooking and 
one eating apples, and will let you 
pick the kind you think will suit 
best at $1.00 and $1.50 per barrel. 
Trusting I can be of service to 
you another season, and thanking 
you for your very kind present, I 
remain 
Very truly yours, 
Chetek, Wis. R. F. IT. 
^ 
HARDY OLD FASHIONED PLANTS 
OUR SPECIALTY 
The best varieties for Wisconsin conditions, carefully grown and 
carefully packed. Write for prices 
WILLIAM TOOLE & SON 
Hardy Plant and Pansy Farm Baraboo, Wis. 
This letter brings out another 
point, the packing. Unfortunately 
the person who packs the barrels 
very seldom opens the same. I am 
of the opinion that many apples 
are packed too tight, causing them 
to be badly bruised. I prefer to 
pack the good grades with cushions 
at the heading. 
By selling direct one can econ- 
omize on barrels to a large extent, 
especially now when barrels are 
high and we are urged to be saving 
in every respect. Late years I have 
been using some sugar barrels. 
This season I used over 300 of 
them, which I purchased at the 
stores and canning factories for 
10c apiece. 
Sometimes I have had a good 
chance to sell all my apples to one 
man for good money, but I have 
never done this because I wish to 
keep up my trade. The greatest 
hindrance is the lack of a sufficient 
supply of the right varieties. Last 
fall I tried to buy apples to help 
out but was unable to do so, not- 
withstanding the fact that hun- 
dreds of bushels of Wealthy went 
to waste in my own vicinity. But 
these apples, not being sprayed, 
were so' scabby and wormy 1 could 
not place my stamp on them. 
I am in hopes that this coming 
year, in view of the shortage of 
food products, every farmer and 
fruit grower who has an apple tree 
on his premises will get busy and 
prune and spray, so that every ap- 
Sanitary Fruit Picker 
PICKS 
Fruit of all Kinds 
QUICKLY, CLEANLY AND 
EFFICIENTLY 
Don’t buy a Step Ladder. Buy 
one of these FRUIT PICKERS 
and get all the fruit from the tops 
o ( ‘ your trees. 
The Greatest Little Invention of 
the Age 
Price $5 
Postpaid anywhere in the U. S. 
Address 
E. R. STODDART, Patentee 
Markesan, Wis. 
