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Vol. LXV. No. 2924. NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 10, 1906. WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR, 
PUBLIC MARKET AT GRAND RAPIDS , MICH 
How Handled ; Benefits; History. 
From the producer’s point of view there is no method 
of handling the fruit crop that will compare in satis¬ 
faction with a properly managed public market. By 
means of it he is able to dispose of his products for 
cash in the least possible space of time, at the ruling 
figure of the day, and is not dependent upon unscrupu¬ 
lous dealers and commission men. The function of a 
public market is to furnish a common ground where 
producer and consumer can meet and deal directly. 
They tend to eliminate useless middlemen and so de¬ 
crease the cost to the consumer. They keep the re¬ 
tailer from exacting exorbitant prices, thus protecting 
the consumer and indirectly increasing consumption. 
They reduce speculation, enable producers to agree 
upon a uniform price, furnish an excellent opportunity 
for comparison and thus stimulate a tendency to higher 
about 2 A. M. till 7 P. M., and from November are 
from 7 A. M. to 5 P. M. The government is in the 
hands of a committee of the common council, who act 
through a superintendent appointed by them. 
The market is divided for convenience of buyers and 
sellers into divisions for the different classes of prod¬ 
uce sold. About two o’clock in the morning the wagons 
begin to arrive, and from then until five there is a 
constant procession, feeling their way to their posi¬ 
tions to be ready for the early buyers that they may 
be ready to start home at the earliest possible moment. 
Then come the buyers, early if they be wise, to secure 
the pick of the offerings. During the height of the 
season buyers are on the ground from every State 
east of the Mississippi buying by the carload. When 
a load is bought it is taken directly to a car and 
packed in the original package to avoid handling. Then 
away it goes by fast freight in refrigerator cars, with 
no further handling until it reaches its destination. 
“Why do the buyers come to the market?” is a ques¬ 
tion often asked. Simply because they wish to see what 
they are buying. They know just what their customers 
demand and must have it. Under the circumstances, 
they cannot trust to the honesty or understanding of 
the grower to ship them just what they want, and so 
stand the extra expense of a personal inspection. It is 
this fact which has brought Grand Rapids to the 
front as a fruit center. The market is a common 
ground where buyer and seller can meet to the best 
advantage of all concerned at the least possible cost and 
with the greatest possible convenience. 
What Grand Rapids has done in this respect can be 
done by any other city situated in a fruit section. It 
has many disadvantages. It is not a lake port, and all 
produce must be shipped by freight. Its country roads 
are not the best and faulty in many instances in that 
the toll-gates are not yet abolished. City property is 
expensive, and adjacent country property commands a 
THE PUBLIC MARKET AT GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Fig. 39. 
quality which promotes a demand for the improved 
product. The public market saves the profits of from 
one to three or more middlemen, who resolve them¬ 
selves into a practically equal division of profits between 
producer and consumer. 
Uie Grand Rapids market is easily the largest public 
peach market and probably the largest general fruit 
market in this country. Originally comprising 12 
acres of swampy land in 1896, it now contains about 
l~ acres, with macadamized roads and cement walks, 
valued at about $90,000. Here the great business of 
handling the immense fruit crop grown within a radius 
of 50 miles is conducted, together with the products 
of the vegetable gardens and poultry yards. Every 
grower is privileged to use the market upon the pay¬ 
ment of 15 cents for single rig or 20 cents for double 
team. If he rents a stall, which costs from $3.50 to 
$16.50 per year, according to location, he has free en¬ 
trance. From May to November the hours arc front 
A marked contrast, indeed, to some fruit which passes 
through sometimes as many as four or five different 
hands before finally reaching the consumer. Retail 
grocers handle a large quantity of fruit and are pres¬ 
ent with their wagons picking out a basket here and 
another there as suits their fancy. Next come the ped¬ 
dlers and hucksters, who sell fruit on the street cor¬ 
ners or at the door. They pick up the cheaper and 
softer grades at a little in advance of what the can¬ 
nery will pay. The housewife, too, desirous of some¬ 
thing new for the day’s dinner, is always present with 
her basket and picks out choice morsels at a price with¬ 
in reach of her purse. And so the morning wears away 
until at eight o’clock nearly everyone has sold out, 
or If not hauls his load to the cannery, which disposes 
of all surplus. Some idea of the amount of business 
done may be gained from the fact that in one day 1,600 
loads were handled and 55,000 bushels of peaches alone 
were sold, to say nothing of other fruit and vegetables. 
high figure, yet for all that the public-spirited citizens 
are proud of their market, and find that it pays. Though 
a newcomer, Grand Rapids has far outstripped the 
pioneer fruit markets on the Lake Michigan coast. The 
public market keeps the money in the local banks and 
brings thousands of dollars’ worth of trade to the 
city merchants which otherwise would go to neighbor¬ 
ing towns. Besides this, the system saves to the pro¬ 
ducer and consumer alike thousands of dollars in econ¬ 
omy of distribution which by other systems would be 
paid to commission merchants in other cities. 
w. J. WRIGHT. 
BOILING THE LIME AND SULPHUR WASH. 
I have read with interest the discussion on page 39 
as to how long the mixture should be boiled in the 
preparation of the lime-sulphur wash. It seems to me 
that one very important point has been overlooked in 
this discussion; namely, the question as to whether 
i 
