Apples  from  Producers  to  Consumer 
Experience  With  Ohio  Orchards 
LAXXIXH  THE  MARKET — Having  taken  over 
an  orchard  of  considerable  size,  producing  last 
year  3,500  bushels  of  apples,  with  younger  plantings 
coining  oil,  and  having  pretty  well  worked  out  the 
problems  of  the  producing  end  of  the  business,  there 
still  remained  the  difficult  problem  of  selling  in  a 
Satisfactory  way.  Being  located  within  12  miles 
of  the  Akron,  Ohio,  market,  and  having  a  paved 
road  completed.  I  calculated  that  we  should  he  able 
to  sell  our  whole  apple  crop  with  other  produets, 
in  this  market.  Apples  are  grown  here  by  farmers 
in  a  small  way,  but  few  grow  them  commercially, 
and  it  usually  requires  immense  quantities  shipped 
in.  to  supply  (lie  city’s  demands.  East  year,  how¬ 
ever,  the  local  crop  was  heavy,  and  as  farmers  had 
more  than  they  needed  they  were  hauled  into  the 
city  and  sold  at  any  price  they  would  bring,  many, 
even  now,  bringing  only  50  to  GO  cents  per  bushel. 
SELLIXH  METHODS. —  In  consideration  of  the 
quality  of  our  apple  crop  I  felt  that  we  ought  to  get 
more  than  the  prevailing  indiscriminate  wholesale 
price.*  In  looking  up  the  market  in  Akron,  while 
these  low  prices  prevailed,  consumers  were  still  pay- 
RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
rangement  has  some  disadvantages.  The  principal 
one.  I  suppose,  is,  that  I  am  so  fond  of  outdoor 
work  with  trees  and  plants,  that  I  would  prefer  to 
give  all  my  time  to  the  growing  end  of  the  business, 
and  tind  it  hard  to  break  away  from  thal  long 
enough  to  give  this  all  the  attention  it  needs  to 
succeed  with  it:  and  without  the  necessary  super- 
Poor  Place  to  Winter  the  Hay-loader.  Fig.  196 
vision  a  place  of  this  kind  soon  "goes  to  seed.”  The 
549 
half  as  hard  as  wo  have.  We  have  only  .inst  be¬ 
gun.  but  as  one  Saturday’s  sales  record  is  now 
about  SjiGS  worth  of  apples,  mostly  sold  at  three 
pounds  for  10  cents,  with  some  peck  baskets  at 
20.  25  and  30  cents,  and  also  a  few  half  bushel 
baskets  sold,  we  think  the  place  will  afford  an 
outlet  for  all  we  can  produce,  and  we  may  soon 
have  to  do  some  hustling  to  supply  the  demand. 
APPLES  IX  BUFFALO.' — I  have  just  returned 
from  selling  a  carload  of  apples  in  a  suburban  vil¬ 
lage  of  Buffalo.  A  little  advertising  in  a  local  pa¬ 
llet1  brought  enough  buyers  at  retail  nearly  to  clean 
up  the  lot.  While  hauling  some  of  the  remainder  to 
Buffalo  markets  I  took  some  time  to  look  about, 
and  failed  to  see  one  creditable  display  of  apples 
in  the  city  of  Buffalo,  with  its  greater  selling  pos¬ 
sibilities  by  reason  of  the  larger  markets:  and  yet 
attractive  displays  of  tropical  fruits  everywhere 
make  an  appeal  to  people  who  would  often  prefer 
apples  if  they  were  equally  well  displayed  and  of¬ 
fered  in  an  interesting  variety  to  choose  from,  and 
all  quality  kinds  that  do  not  disappoint  the  buyer. 
Wayne  Co..  Ohio.  <  tiHrsn.w  weckesser. 
A  Tribute  to  T.  B.  Terry 
ing  high  prices.  Then  again,  in  looking  up  the  ap¬ 
ple  supply  in  Stores  and  fruit  stands,  it  is  found 
very  inferior  to  (lie  display  of  oranges,  grapefruit, 
lemons,  etc.  This  condition  also  holds  good  at  the 
market  houses  in  Akron,  as  far  as  1  have  observed. 
expense  for  rent,  and  hire  of  sales  girl  arc  just 
as  much  when  little  is  sold,  and  soon  cat  up  the 
profits  if  it  is  not  pushed  for  all  it  is  capable  of 
doing.  It  must  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  start¬ 
ing  a  business  of  this  kind  it  takes  time  and  effort 
SOME  little  time  ago  T  read  in  your  columns  a 
very  deserving  tribute  to  the  memory  of  T.  B. 
Terry.  Until  then  I  had  not  known  of  his  death. 
I  knew  Mr.  Terry  quite  well,  having  visited  him  a 
number  of  times  in  the  early  nineties  at  his  little 
except  at  the  City  Market  House:  several  (inns  have 
already  worked  lip  a  good  trade  in  specializing,  by 
selling  principally  apples  at  retail  from  their  booths. 
The  curb  market  in  Akron  has  never 
developed  into  , anything  hut  a  whole¬ 
sale  market,  .and  is  usually  over  by 
eight  o'clock  in  I  he  morning.  Attend¬ 
ing  this  market  necessitates  getting 
there  often  at  two  or  three  o’clock  in 
the  morning  in  order  to  get  a  good 
place  to  sell,  and  I  do  not  take  kindly 
to  this  night  work. 
MARKETS. — The  retailing  is  most- 
ly  done  in  several  market  houses,  until 
recently  nearly  all  in  the  City  Market 
House,  where  selling  booths  are  rented 
by  the  year.  These  are  all  occupied 
and  usually  cannot  he  had.  except  by 
paying  a  considerable  premium.  B.  L. 
Dodge,  an  Akron  business  man,  recent¬ 
ly  built  and  equipped  the  new  "Med¬ 
ford  Mlirket”  just  beside  the  old  Mar¬ 
ket  House.  This  was  done  as  a  pri¬ 
vate  enterprise,  on  rather  broad  lines, 
being  modern  and  sanitary  in  equip¬ 
ment,  with  refrigeration,  janitor  ser- 
to  be  invested  as  capital,  for  which  fuller  returns 
may  only  lie  expected  later,  when  business  is  estab¬ 
lished  and  customers  have  become  friends,  as  it  were. 
is  soon 
sages,  etc.  Air.  Dodge’s  idea  was  to 
engage  producers  instead  of  hucksters  - 
for  selling,  and  making  this  a  place  for 
producer  and  consumer  to  meet.  The  Natl 
idea  appealed  to  me,  so  I  engaged  selling  space.  We 
are  now  selling  apples  all  the  week  from  this  place. 
An  adaptable  sales  girl  is  there  every  day.  supple¬ 
mented  by  our  help  al  the  busiest  times,  especially 
Saturdays,  until  10:30  1*.  M.  The  busiest  time  seems 
to  he  Saturday  afternoons. 
INTERHSTLXH  BUYERS. — In  my  experience  so 
far  a  good  supply  attractively  displayed  tempts  peo¬ 
ple  to  buy.  When  they  see  the  different  varieties 
attractively  displayed  many  remember  the  old  va¬ 
rieties  that  used  to  he  their  favorites  hack  in  child¬ 
hood  on  the  farm;  and  once  they  stop  to  talk  ap¬ 
ples  they  become  interred  in  the  fact  that  we 
art1  producers,  and  with  prices  reasonable  and  qual¬ 
ity  high,  they  soon  get  the  habit  of  coming  again 
and  again;  while  when  apples  are  gone  there  will 
Ik  other  truck  and  fruit  crops  they  will  be  just  as 
ready  to  buy  at  first  hand. 
