THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
757 
i89r 
Business. 
SELLING BERRIES BY THE POUND. 
WEIGHT VS. MEASURE. 
Quite a large number of strawberry growers relate their 
success in selling berries by the pound. They pack the 
best and largest berries in wooden plates or boxes, such as 
are used for butter or lard, with leaves or flowers—a pound 
in each box. They claim that this suits the best cus¬ 
tomers and makes a flee trade. Could you do business in 
this way, and would It be more profitable than selling ber¬ 
ries by the quart ? 
Been Doing It Right Along. 
I have for many years sold strawberries in a similar 
way. I use pint berry boxes, however, Instead of butter 
dishes. By putting in none but choice fruit and making 
each package alike attractive, “as handsome as a picture” 
say, I have succeeded in getting from a certain class of 
customers a price that would simply astonish many 
people, and this, too, in a town where few people are in the 
habit of paying fancy prices. I have developed a trade for 
many other garden products in the same way—by put¬ 
ting them up in such an attractive manner that people 
couldn’t help buying them. A. I. root. 
Medina Co., Ohio. 
Too Much Time and Labor Needed. 
1 think the plan would involve too much time and labor. 
There would be too many details for me, and I do not think 
my customers would “ hitch on to the idee” sufficiently to 
justify me In adopting it. Locality may make some dif¬ 
ference, but this community are content to get first-class 
berries in a fresh condition and honest quarts. I furnish 
these in new, clean baskets, though the merchants claim 
that neither looks nor cleanliness of the baskets make any 
difference. They ought to, and I refuse to put decent 
berries in anything but decent baskets. Nine out of ten 
baskets returned with the crates are old, stained, moldy 
things of all sizes. These 1 throw Into the rubbish heap 
or return empty for other dealers to use, preferring to 
use new, clean ones myself. The demand is for cheapness ; 
neatness and fancy are secondary considerations. I don’t 
think I could do business at a profit In the way suggested. 
Essex Co., N. J. e. williams. 
Better Make a Larger Quart. 
There is no disadvange in displaying berries in the most 
attractive form to tempt the buyer, but I question the 
utility of reducing the size of the package, unless the idea 
is to make a pint of berries look like a quart. I have never 
been asked to sell less th n a quart, either of strawberries 
or raspberries. I have even increased the ordinary-sized 
package—an innovation which not only promotes sales, bub 
also retains customers when once gained. When once ac¬ 
customed to a full dry quart, they do not relish a dried- 
up one. I find that berries packed in Novelty paper bas¬ 
kets will command an enhanced price out of proportion to 
the difference in the amount of fruit. Time is money in 
the berry season, and the grower must plan to let a dollar 
represent as small an amount of time as possible con¬ 
sumed in marketing. It takes no longer to sell a quart 
package than a smaller one. Whether this reason would 
avail with growers who employ middlemen I do not know. 
Worcester Co., Mass. fked. w. proctor. 
Paid In the Buffalo Market. 
Mr. E. E. Summey recently told the readers of the Coun¬ 
try Gentleman how he sold berries by the pound. He says: 
After some experimenting I found that the medium-sized 
common wooden plates used by grocers as packages for 
butter, lard, etc., were suitable for my purpose. In pre¬ 
paring them for market, plantain or lilac leaves were first 
laid on the plate with their points projecting an inch orso, 
and the plate then was placed on the scales and berries put 
in until the whole weighed just a pound; the fruit was 
carefully laid in, some of the largest and bast going on the 
bottom, those on top being placed so as to render the ap¬ 
pearance as attractive as possible. The Bubach Is specially 
adapted for such showy arrangement, as the calyx is so 
prominent as to afford a fine contrast to the fruit if a half 
dozen or so are laid with the btem ends up ; each berrv also 
was picked with a stem from one to two inches long. From 
each quart of berries, just as they were picked, could be 
selected a plateful of fiult, as a quart weighs about a 
pound and a half. The small berries were either used at 
home or put in ordinary quart baskets, and sold at the 
same price that was received by neighbors for their Wil¬ 
sons as they ran. 
These berries sold at 25 cents a plate while good Wilsons 
brought 12 cents per quart. He picked as many of the 
berries as possible on the morning of the day they were to 
be sold. Of course, as Mr. Summey says, the demand for 
such fruit is limited, and one must work hard and long to 
secure and keep such a market. 
Sell all Fruits and Vegetables by the Pound. 
I have never given the matter any considerable thought, 
although in a general way I am a believer in belling all 
products by weight rather than by the “ box,” “ basket,” 
or any other indefinite form that is not clearly understood. 
The one thing above all others to be sought after in secur¬ 
ing the best prices for well grown fruit of any kind is a 
neat, attractive package that will show off the fruit to the 
best possible advantage; if such packages can be designed 
that will hold a good, honest pound of berries apiece, and 
they can be of such shape as to admit of their being packed 
in crates or boxes of suitable size to be handled by the re¬ 
tail dealers, there is no reason why berries should not be 
sold by the pound rather than by the basket. At present, 
the so called “ quart baskets” that are used most largely in 
handling berries, especially on the Atlantic coast, are of a 
half-dozen or more sizes, varying from a pint and a half to 
a full honest quart, and some of them rather slightly 
exceed a quart, yet they all sell as quarts. Possibly it 
might be the same if we began to offer berries by the 
pound; no one would make a business of weighing them, 
of course; indeed it could not well be done in the hurry 
and bustle of picking and marketing, and no doubt some 
“ smart fellows” would begin to make packages that would 
hold a scant pound, just as they make the scant baskets ; 
and I therefore see no especial advantage in the pound 
plan for berries over and above using it for all fruits and 
vegetables, a practice which I believe is bound to come In 
time. 
On the Pacific coast berries are all sold by the pound, 
packed in broad, shallow boxes, mostly holding three to 
five pounds each. These disp'ay the fruit to excellent 
advantage ; but as nearly everything over there is sold by 
the pound, it is all right. I am of the opinion that it would 
be best to advocate sales by the pound all around rather 
than attempt to urge the matter upon berries alone. 
Hartford Co , Conn. J. H. hale. 
Tivo months free to each and all of the new sribscrlp- 
tions sent in now for 1892. 
THE CANNED GOODS INDUSTRY. 
I would like to see an article in The Rural on canning 
establishments. We can grow any quantity of tomatoes 
here. I have this year about 100 bushels; but there is no 
sale for them. I learn, however, that the demand is good 
for the canned goods. About what would an outfit cost? 
Owosso, Mich. E. D. B. 
There is little difference in a business way between the 
canning and any other manufacturing industry. Every 
such business requires a more or less expensive outlay for 
buildings and machinery; a sufficiently large capital to 
carry it on properly; a knowledge of the methods and pro¬ 
cesses of manufacture; a thorough acquaintance with the 
sources of supply for the crude materials required as well 
as with markets for the sale of the finished product. Be¬ 
sides all these requisites, there are innumerable minor de¬ 
tails that must be mastered to bring the highest degree of 
success. Our friend evidently has an idea of engaging in 
a business of which he knows little or nothing, simply be¬ 
cause he learns that the demand is good for the canned 
goods and because the crude materials are plentiful and 
cheap. Probably no branch of manufacturing is subject 
to so many vicissitudes from various causes as the produc¬ 
tion of canned goods. In this as in other kinds of business, 
the percentage of cost is likely to be less and the percent¬ 
age of profit (or loss, as the case may be) greater if the opera¬ 
tions are conducted on a somewhat extended scale. 
In this as well as in other things THE R. N.-Y. has 
sought informa ion from competent authority. The firm 
of Wm. H. Cohen & Co. has for many yeara had a can¬ 
ning factory at Matawan, N. J., and also a salesroom and 
general commission business at 229 and 231 Greenwich 
Street, this city. Mr. Cohen gave a representative of The 
R. N.-Y. a statement of the condition of the canning in¬ 
dustry, which we believe to be conservative and reliable. 
The firm’s factory has been allowed to stand idle for the 
past two years because this is preferable to the loss which 
would be Incurred in running it. The location is an ideal 
one for successful work. Located in Monmouth County, 
where tomatoes, corn, squashes, beans and all other vege 
tables usually canned, as well as clams and all sorts of 
fruits are to be obtained in profusion and at low rates, 
the procuring of crude materials would seem to an easy 
matter. Then the location of a salesroom in the city, from 
which the best of the city trade, including the Delmonicos 
and other first class customers are supplied, would seem 
to furnish an opportunity for satisfactory profit, but the 
last two years the factory was run showed a loss of 
$2,500 to.$2,800, besides the wear and tear on the machinery. 
The proof of its unprofitableness is that the factory, which 
cost $18,000, is now for sale for half that price. Any farmer 
having a longing to try that sort of business may have 
the opportunity. This factory has a capacity of about 
20,000 three pound cans daily. Mr. Cohen gave The 
R N.-Y. the figures of the cost per case to pack tomatoes 
during the two years 1879 and 1880. A case holds two dozen 
cans. These items may prove interesting to those who 
wish to figure the profits In the business : 
COST OF PACKING TOMATOES PER CASE. 
Cost of tomatoes. 
Cans. 
Labor and nails. 
Solder for cans. 
Fuel and charcoal. 
Rent and insurance. 
Labels.. 
Labels for cases. 
Freight. 
Wear and tear on machinery, 
Cases.. 
Total cost per ea->e. 
Cost per dozen. 
1879. 
U80. 
$0.49 
$0.55 
. .06 
.72 
. .24 
.25 
. .U4 
.04 
. .US 
.08 
. .07 
.05 
. .05 
.05 
. .01 
.01 
. .05 
.05 
. .01 
.01 
. .11 
.12 
.$1.76 
$1.88 
. .Hi 
.94 
The same kind of goods have been bought by Mr. Cohen 
this year for 85 cents per case, so that he congratulates 
himself on something of a saving. The cost now varies 
little from that in the years given, except in the price of 
tin, which is about $1 per box higher. This would Increase 
the price per dozen somewhere from three to five cents. 
In goods in which sugar is used, the difference caused by 
the reduction in the price of sugar just about equals the ad¬ 
vance in the price of tin. Mr. Cohen said that he had bought 
State corn this year, delivered on dock, for 82% and 85% 
cents per case, respectively, for the different grades. 
As to the question of glass or tin cans, the former are 
impracticable for commercial purposes owing to their 
extra cost and the liability of breakage. Tin seems to be 
the only material which answers the purpose. 
From these statements there seems little encourage¬ 
ment for any one to engage in the business, especially 
if experience be lacking. There may be some parts 
of the country where vegetables and fruits can be 
grown so cheaply and where the prices of canned goods 
are such that the undertaking might prove profitable. 
The canning of a prime product fora special market might 
also be remunerative, but for inexperienced parties to 
undertake the business for the general market seems to us 
unwise. F. H. v. 
WHAT YOU MAKE BY CAREFUL SORTING. 
Customers Demand Pay for Picking Little Ones. 
I had 400 bushels of potatoes, 500 of apples, 20 cows, four 
horses and some young stock. Except a few kept for 
family use, I have marketed all my potatoes for 35 cents 
per bushel, and all my apples for 30 cents per bushel. I 
might just as well have got 50 cents per bushels for both. 
My potatoes brought me $140 ; my apples $150. Did I do 
as well as if I had sorted out 100 bushels of the poorest 
potatoes and sold the remaining 300 for 50 cents T Not quite. 
I made $10 less, besides the cost of 100 extra baskets and 
the expense of hauling 100 bushels 10 miles to market 
merely for the sake of making a present of them to the 
dealer for taking the other 300. Moreover, the 100 bushels 
of culls could have been utilized as stock feed or in other 
ways at home. If I had also sorted my apples, I would 
have obtained the same amount of money for 300 bushels 
at 50 cents per bushel, and saved the expense of hauling 200 
bushels 10 miles. The 200 bushels of culled apples could 
have been profitably used at home. Then again, if I had 
sorted them once more and kept 100 bushels of the best till 
apples were scarce, I might have got 40 to 50 cents per 
bushel for the other 200, and a much better figure for the 
100 choice apples in a short market. The same could also be 
said of the potatoes. Some one may say, “I must sell all, 
big and little, for the market is so dull that I can’t get any 
more, even if I go to the trouble of sorting them.” Let’s see: 
If every one would keep a quarter or more of his crop at 
home and sell none but the best, the market would not be 
so dull, and then It could and would take all the well- 
sorted goods at a fair price, and our live stock as well as 
ourselves would be the better for this policy. 
To give an illustration : A few days since I was in a store 
in one of our cities in this State. A farmer came in and 
said to me. 
“ I have about 100 barrels cf apples, but I can’t get any¬ 
thing for them.” 
“ Yes you can,” said I. “ You can get 50 cents per bushel 
for them.” 
“ I wish you would tell how and where” he replied. 
“ Right here,” said I. 
Some apples were lying before us; I picked up three and 
said to him. 
“Sort your apples like these and sell the best and keep 
the rest; and, later, you can sell them or feed them to 
your stock and thus you will get more for your crop than 
if you sell all together in their present condition.” 
The merchant came up at this moment and hearing our 
conversation, said: “ If you will pick out one third of your 
apples, I will give you more for the best part of your crop 
than I will for it all, for such a mixed lot I don’t want at 
any price.” 
I had some pears in my wagon—I said to him: “Do you 
want some Sheldon Pears at one dollar per bushel ?” 
“ No, sir,” he replied, “ I can get all I want at 75 cents.” 
“ All right, sir,” said I, “ you cannot get mine for 
that. Will you please look at them ? ” He did, and 
turned around and said: “ You may set them out” and 
he walked into the store and paid me $1 per bushel for all 
I had, and said that if people would sort their fruits and 
vegetables and put nothing but first class goods on the 
market, they would get more money than they now do, 
while they could feed the poor stuff to their stock or 
utilize it in some other way. This season I sold my celery 
in Elmira for 30 cents per dozen, while all the other growers 
got only from 20 to 25 cents, and had to be satisfied to sup¬ 
ply the demand I couldn’t from a lack of a sufficient stock 
of a good article to supply all the trade. I don’t try to 
mix the first and second quality in one bunch, but sort it 
up so as to make my first-class, all first-class; and my 
second class I let go as second-class. Then people know 
what they are buying and I have no trouble in getting 
rid of all my crop before cold weather. A. D. 
Horseheads, N. Y. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
That Corn Harvester.— We are now filling our silos and 
shall finish this week. We are using the corn harvester 
recently illustrated in The Rural New Yorker. It cuts 
and loads so easily as to make a man laugh. It is a full 
solution of the problem of ensilage. j. s. woodward. 
Niagara Co., N. Y. 
A good harness is a mighty useful thing on the farm. 
A poor one is as likely as not to rub sores on the horse or 
break just when one wants it to hold. King & Co., of 
Otvego, N. Y., retail harness to farmers, and have many 
regular customers who buy of them all their supplies in 
thisline. The firm has just added a tannery to its plant, 
so that it can make a cheaper and better stock of leather. 
The heaviest leather is made almost as pliable as kip. The 
cause is found in the finishing room, where the purest 
neat’s-foot oil is used, instead of the dirty grease usually 
employed by tanners. A good share of the trade is done 
by mail. 
“ Success ” Potato Digger.—E. S. Teagarden, a well- 
known agricultural writer of Iowa, says : “ Tne labor to 
dig and harvest the potato crop may be reduced at least 
one-half by the use of a successful digger. The writer has 
just tried the ‘Success’ potato digger, made and sold by 
D. Y. Hallock, York, Pa. The ground was dry and hard, but 
the work was very complete—the potatoes were left by the 
digger all on top of the ground so that they were picked up 
without using the hands to uncover any. The work is 
very light, for two horses and a man can handle the dig¬ 
ger as easily as a common walking plow. Whether it 
would perform as well when the soil Is softened by rain 
has not been tested, but the writer has used several dig¬ 
gers of different makes, and has never had such complete 
work done, and it is believed that it will do as good work 
in any soil, in any condition, as any digger now made, 
while the price is so very low as to make it little or no 
risk to buy it, $12 being the entire cost.” 
