1006. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
6i5 
THE FARMER AS A SALESMAN. 
ERRORS IN HANDLING.—Selling stuff to a mer¬ 
chant recently he let drop a remark that put me to 
thinking: “You know a stock of goods well bought is 
half sold/ This merchant is the closest, most alert 
buyer I ever had any dealings with. After buying his 
goods, he has a novel way to attract, by judicious 
advertising, your attention to his store; once he gets 
you there, everything is attractively arranged, clean, 
clerks smiling and accommodating, ready to show and 
sell you the goods and receive your cash. To use a 
popular expression, the thing seems “dead easy.” From 
actual experience as a farmer I may also say a crop well 
grown is half sold, but to grow a crop well taxes all 
the ingenuity of a man when bad seasons and weather 
conditions, poor infertile soil, no working capital at 
hand, and other conditions too many to enumerate, 
confront you. But even now, with a well-grown crop 
ready for market, unless put up very attractively and 
sold when the crop is at its best, you will not get full 
value for it, and right here the farmer as a salesman 
makes the greatest failure. Only recently I noticed a 
farmer taking apples to market who sold them to an 
Italian fruit dealer having a fruit stand on a corner of 
a business street. The apples were put up in old 
fertilizer sacks, a bushel in a bag; they were large Spies 
and Baldwins, well colored. He got $1 per bushel for 
them—and thought he did very well. Had this farmer 
taken a clean coarse linen towel and rubbed those 
apples and put them up in half-bushel baskets, every 
apple laid in carefully, turning up the best colored side, 
he could easily have got $1 per basket, or double the 
amount he got for them, as fine apples are so scarce 
you can get almost any price you ask for them. 
A STRAWBERRY EXPERIENCE.—I shall never 
forget my first experience selling strawberries. That 
year the crop in this section was unusually 
heavy, and prices therefore ruled very 
low. When I came to town there were 
32 wagon loads on the market, and still 
coming; berries sold from three to five 
cents per quart. I had some fine large 
Jessie and Bubach, and got six cents for 
them. After being sold out I walked 
into a store, where I saw a large display 
marked from five to seven cents per quart, 
but at one side, on a separate counter, 
was a small lot marked 11 cents. They 
were a sight to behold, laid in tiers in 
the basket, the dark colored side of the 
berry turned up, laid closely together, 
every berry seemingly of the same large 
size, and filled so full there was not room 
for another berry in the basket; the at¬ 
tractiveness was a revelation to me. I 
went home; there 120 quarts, as fine ber¬ 
ries as those I saw in town, were already 
picked for next day’s market, but they 
were not filled as well, nor as nicely 
graded, and not as attractively put up as 
those in town. I went to work at once, 
refilled and put up the berries as I had 
seen the others in town. When done I had 87 quarts 
firsts, 18 quarts seconds, and 15 quarts of empty baskets. 
I lost 15 quarts by filling baskets the new way. I 
went to town the next day; the market was in the same 
glutted condition, but I asked and received readily 10 
cents per quart. I got seven cents per quart for my 
seconds, the 105 quarts sold for $9.95; had I left the 
same berries in the 120 quart baskets I should have 
received $7.20 for them. I do not retail; I sell all my 
stuff to grocers and dealers. Having my load sold I 
went into the store to collect, but had to wait quite 
a while, as they were very busy. Here I had a chance 
to see what people really want. Strawberries were 
marked from five to seven cents; mine were marked 
12'/ 2 cents. To prove to you that people will pay a big 
price for a fine article honestly put up more cheerfully 
than a lower price for an inferior article, I was sur¬ 
prised to notice that everyone who bought berries took 
mine, and paid 12/4 cents for them, leaving the five and 
seven-cent berries until all mine were sold except a half 
bushel, which the grocer put back under the counter 
saving them, as he said, for a special customer. One 
lady ordering five quarts of my berries spoke up and 
said: “0'f course they are so much nicer than those 
others, but it seems the difference in the price i? very 
big.” The grocer said: “I make one-half cent more 
on the cheap berries than I do on these—you will have 
to quarrel with that man,” turning to me. “He puts 
that high price on them,” The lady looked at me as 
though she was waiting for an explanation, so I told 
the grocer to select one basket of his cheap berries and 
put them on the scale and weigh it. He did so, and 
announced the weight. “Now,” I said, “select any one 
of my baskets and weight it.” He did so, and there 
were 8}4 ounces more fruit in my basket than in the 
other. “Now,” I said to the lady, “you see you pay 
that higher price not only for select fruit, but you get 
more of it.” She was fully convinced and highly 
pleased. The grocer then contracted for my whole 
crop and bought from me ever since. 
ATTRACTIVENESS A BUSINESS FACTOR.— 
The above little experience proved a stepping stone to 
my success of selling stuff. Everything I sell I put up 
as attractively as it can be done, sparing no time or labor. 
I fill all packages as full as it is possible to fill them; 
I allow not a poor specimen to go into a package that I 
fill. Even if one does not do it for conscience’ sake or 
because he wants to give everyone an honest, square 
deal, he simply cannot afford to do otherwise. You 
often read of men being tired of life and committing 
suicide. Well, if you are tired of business life you 
cannot commit commercial suicide in an easier way 
than to put up your stuff poorly and slack-fill your 
packages and put up poor stuff, facing top with a few 
nice specimens. There is another feature, I know that 
one can increase the consumption of stuff if put up as 
stated above. I have many times seen this proved. 
Only last Fall I left a few baskets of turnips at a store; 
they were nicely put up, tops and roots closely trimmed, 
washed clean, placed in basket, purple top up, on one 
side of the handle of basket, on the other side the white 
side up, the contrast being very pleasing to the eye. 
When I stopped to collect for them, a lady came buying 
stuff at the store and from her remark it was evident 
she had not come to buy turnips, but she noticed them 
at once and said: “What nice turnips, I guess I will 
have a basket.” I could name dozens of instances 
where women bought stuff that looked attractive, where 
they never thought of buying until they saw it. You 
know our mothers, wives and daughters, while very 
much up to date, arc yet in matters of looks very much 
the same as old Mother Eve was in the Garden of 
Eden, before she took of the forbidden fruit. We 
read that she saw the tree was good for its fruit, and 
that it was pleasant to the eye. Being pleasant to the 
eye is a condition that must be considered in every¬ 
thing that you want to sell to a woman, and for that 
matter to a man also. 
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES.—I read an article 
recently in a farm paper (it was not The R. N.-Y.) 
the writer of which gave instructions how to sell farm 
produce. It did not take me long to see that he prob¬ 
ably never sold a dollar’s worth of stuff. He said: 
“Have a nice wagon, slick up your horse and harness, 
personally be very tidy, a white shirt and collar and 
good business suit, be very polite, tip your hat to ladies 
even if it is only the hired girl you meet, she sometimes 
has influence that helps to sell your stuff.” Now above 
all things I hate a farm dude—who tries to hide the 
farmer behind a tall collar, a gorgeous tie and all sorts 
of fixings. Why should I feel ashamed of being recog¬ 
nized as a farmer? If he lives up to his calling as he 
should, makes use of opportunities at hand, though he 
may be rigged out as a walking fashion plate, and is 
sunburned and brown as a berry, and even if lie lacks 
the wealth of some city men, he is nevertheless easily 
the equal and the peer of most of them. However, if 
one can afford a fine market wagon, a stylish horse and 
fancy harness, and wants to array himself in a white 
shirt and standing collar and good business suit, there 
may not be a great deal of harm in it, but do not think 
for a moment that they arc a factor in disposing of your 
load. Folks who come to market do not want your 
rig, nor do they want you, no matter how nice and 
polite you are, but they want your produce if it is well 
grown, attractively and honestly put up, and they will 
pay you well for it. A huckster last Summer wanted 
to hire from me an old farm wagon. He said the shab¬ 
bier the better so it was strong, to carry a load. He 
said he had good huckstering wagons, but they would 
not answer the purpose as well; he was willing to pay 
well for the use of it. As an explanation for wanting 
this old wagon he said: “I have bought up a large 
amount of farm produce that I want to sell quick and 
at a good price, now disguised as a farmer the people 
will buy better and pay a higher price for my stuff 
than they will if I appear in my real character as a 
huckster. The people will buy from the farmer and pay 
him a higher price than they will anyone else for the 
same stuff.” There you have it, the cunning city man 
goes out in a guise of the farmer, and the fool farmer 
in the guise of the city man. j. H. BOLLINGER. 
Ohio. 
HOW TO CURE COW PEA HAY . 
Trouble in Maryland. 
The farmers here arc also having much trouble in 
curing cow peas into good hay. Peas are in the right 
condition to cut in the early part of September. The 
nights arc long and the dews heavy, so we only have a 
few hours of hay weather each day. That makes it 
almost impossible to cure successfully a vine as sappy 
as the pea vine. Nearly all our farmers sow one peck 
of sorghum seed to the acre; cut the peas and 
sorghum when dry. As soon as the vines are wilted 
well, rake up and put in small cocks. Then turn cocks 
bottom up each day until cured through. Should you 
be so unfortunate as to strike a rainy season after the 
peas are cut, then bid good-bye to your hay. You will 
only get a crop of half-moldy stalks. The great objec¬ 
tion to the cow pea as a hay crop is that it matures at 
a season when we seldom have hay weather; and I 
have seen much money lost in trying to make hay of 
this when planted on stony land. On thin land where 
the vines are small, often good hay can be made, but 
it is not a sure crop. joiin h. janney. 
Maryland. 
Curing Cow Pea Hay in Mississippi. 
To make choice cow-pea hay the vines 
should be cut when the leaves first begin 
to turn yellow, and when here and there 
is a ripe peapod. Do the cutting in the 
morning after the dew is dried off, and 
on a sunny^ day; rake in small piles late 
in the afternoon. The next day turn the 
piles over after the dew has dried off, 
and late in the following afternoon haul 
to the barn. To get the most good from 
peavine hay, it should be cured so as not 
to lose the leaves. When one has ample 
shelter room, it is best to cure the vines 
under shelter, by hauling them and turn¬ 
ing them every day or two till they have 
been turned twice. It is very fine, but a 
difficult hay to save. When properly 
cured it is equal to Alfalfa, and relished 
as much by all stock, d. a. saunders. 
Mississippi. 
Cured on Poles 
Cow peas are usually grown here as a 
second crop, following early potatoes, 
wheat, etc., hence are seldom sown till 
the last week in June and first of July, and the early, 
upright sorts, such as Whippoorwill, New Era and Mt. 
Olive are used in preference to the vining sorts. Sor¬ 
ghum, millet and fodder corn are sometimes sown with 
the peas. They are usually ready for hay the middle 
of September, when in this section we are likely to have 
good weather for curing. Cut with mower and let lie 
; for one or two days, rake and let cure in windrows, 
or if weather is threatening put in good-sized codes, 
and it will pass through a storm almost as well as 
Timothy hay, especially if millet be grown with it. 
With good weather it is ready for the barn in five to 
six days. Some cure in the following manner, which 
is more trouble, but which insures no musty hay: Cut 
poles or get edging strips from a sawmill, drive in the 
ground and cock about them, first placing a forkful of 
straw on the ground for the cock to rest on. Build the 
cock narrow and high, and to the top of the stake, and 
a good flat bunch placed above pole, and all serves as 
a cap. These may be left in the field till late Fall or 
early Winter, and while the outside will be weathered 
and black, the inside will be bright and well cured. 
Maryland. _ w. e. bowman. 
MARYLAND NOTES.—A drought prevailed from April 
15 to May 31, broken by one small rain, which cut short 
the hay and oats crop by one-half. Since that time we 
have had an over-abundance of rain, causing grassy corn¬ 
fields and much trouble and delay in wheat harvest, many 
binders miring in the' fields. Wheat is a fair crop, but 
still standing in the shock, and the rains continue: 80 
per cent of a crop is a big prediction at this date. A 
large tomato crop has been set for the canning houses, and 
a good stand secured. Eight dollars per ton is the con¬ 
tract price this season. Early potatoes were hurt by the 
frosts of May 9 and 10. The present price Is about $2.25 
per barrel on station platform. Corn is looking well. 
Apples and peaches are scarce, more so than last year, 
but wild dewberries are abundant, and sell for 25 cents 
per 10-quart pail. The farmers’ garden is both early and 
abundant. W, I/! B, 
Snow Hill, Md. 
PULLING OUT CHESTNUT STUMPS. Fig. 256. 
