1914. 
THE RURAIi NEW-YORKER 
463 
PACKING 100 PER CENT. APPLES. 
“FACING" THE BARRELS.— The article by 
Harry G. Chapin on page 251 should be read care¬ 
fully by every fruit grower, especially those who are 
now trying to put up a first-class pack in a commer¬ 
cial way. It is evident that Mr. Chapin has never 
packed apples, if he really means what he says. 
The resolution passed by the Western New York 
Horticultural Society was bad enough, and the apple 
men who voted for it surely could not have stopped 
to consider what effect it would have on their busi¬ 
ness. If the law proposed by Mr. Chapin were to 
go into effect the only way we could comply with it 
would be to face every barrel with the poorest and 
smallest apples in that grade. If we wanted to keep 
in the apple business we should have to pack all our 
fancy apples in boxes, and sell the rest in bulk to the 
canneries and evaporators. There would be thou¬ 
sands of bushels of perfect apples wliieli were of 
poor color which could not be sold to the people who 
want to buy them, because it would be too much 
trouble to pack them in so many grades. In our own 
case it would be necessary to put up at least six 
grades of perfect apples instead of the three we 
pack at present. Professor Wilson made similar 
suggestions at the meeting of the New’ York State 
Fruit Growers’ Association, but it seems to me that 
both he and Mr. Chapin are laboring under a mis¬ 
apprehension. Prof. Wilson made the point that 
it is dishonest to face a barrel with apples better in 
anyway than the average of those in the rest of the 
barrel. There are in the world varying opinions in 
regard to honesty and dishonesty, and each one 
thinks he is right, but it seems to me, as a fruit 
grower, that it is no more dishonest to face a barrel 
of apples with a single layer of well-colored apples 
not larger than some others in the barrel, if the size 
variation in the grade is not too great, than to face 
a box of dried peaches with a single layer of perfect 
pieces. Personally I should buy the well-faced bar¬ 
rel in preference to the unfaced one or the poorly 
faced one. and pay a premium for the facing even if 
I knew that the other barrels contained just as many 
perfect apples. I think most persons would do the 
same, just as one would buy the most attractive 
package of any other food material. 
UNIFORM SIZING.—In our packing house we are 
trying to make as nearly perfect a pack of apples as 
possible, but we are not packing 100 per cent apples, 
and I do not believe there is a grower in New York 
State who is. Our apples are graded to size by the 
best machine we could get, and under such condi¬ 
tions that practically all the imperfect fruit is re¬ 
moved and sold as culls, and there is practically no 
variation in average size and quality from end to 
end of the barrel. The smallest apples are as likely 
to be directly under the face as anywhere m the 
barrel, but we face with well-colored fruit picked out 
as the apples are being run. We sort into three size 
grades, 2*4-214 inches, 2*4-3 inches, and over three 
inches in diameter. In 1912 we faced the small 
apples with a single layer of 2%-inch apples. That 
is, we made three rings around the face and put one 
apple in the center. The next size we faced with 
two rings around and four in the center, or apples 
just under three inches. The largest grade was faced 
with the largest apples we could get, provided they 
were not too large to make two rings around and 
one apple in the center. In some cases we had to 
put two or three apples in the center of the face of 
this grade. Theoretically, this the best way to face, 
but in 1913, at the earnest solicitation of the men to 
whom we sell our crop, we increased the size of the 
apples in the face, putting two rings and four on the 
smallest, and two rings and three on the interme¬ 
diate grade. This pleases the buyers better, although 
we feel that there is too much discrepancy between 
barrel and face in the smallest grade. If the law 
proposed by the resolution adopted at Rochester 
should be put in force it would be necessary to face 
our smallest apples with 2*4 inch, our main crop 
with 2U inch, and the largest with three-inch apples. 
If. in addition, Mr. Chapin's suggestion were fol¬ 
lowed it would be necessary to use also the poorest 
colored apples we could get. In other words, Mr. 
Chapin's idea is to make our package as unattractive 
as possible. This would be to the advantage of the 
city man for a short time, for the price of apples 
would go down to such an extent that many growers 
would become discouraged, but when the acreage had 
become sufficiently reduced the price would soar. 
In the long run, it will benefit no one to prevent 
apple packers from putting on their barrels a face 
of attractive apples not larger than the largest in 
the rest of the barrel. There should not be more 
than a single layer of this face, and the apples im¬ 
mediately behind it or those at the tail of the barrel 
should be a fair sample of all the package contains. 
PACKING FROM SORTER—In our packing 
house, the apples as they come from the grader 
spouts are run directly into the faced barrels with 
no further sorting except that the barrelers are re¬ 
quired to watch for imperfect apples that have 
escaped the sorters. The man who is putting the 
apples into the machine is required to mix up 
crates of large and small, green and bright apples 
as much as possible, and the machine mixes them 
up still more, so that the grades run very uniform¬ 
ly through the barrels and from barrel to barrel. 
Of course, occasions will arise where a group of 
trees will be loaded with small apples. If such a 
run is followed by the picking of some trees which 
have very few small fruits there will be some vari¬ 
ation in the average size of the apples in different 
barrels of the same grade, but the variation will 
be less than might be expected, and would be very 
much less than would be the case if the grading 
were done by hand over an ordinary table, even by 
the most experienced men. This is the great value 
of a grading machine. A good man can grade 
apples as exactly or more exactly than the best 
machine, but he cannot do it as rapidly, and his 
No. 2 grade in large apples is very likely to be 
about as large as his No. 1 in small apples of the 
same variety. Moreover, a man who must bend all 
his energies to the task of sizing his apples cannot 
do so well at picking out imperfect ones. 
We are trying to put up such a pack as we 
should like to buy, and for the good of the business 
we wish all our neighbors (that is, every apple 
grower in Western New York) were compelled to 
do the same, but we feel that such a law as is 
proposed by Mi-. Chapin would be very unjust, and 
would be an especial burden on those of us who are 
trying to raise the quality of the Western New 
York pack. alfbed c. weed. 
Wayne County. N. Y. 
A FOOD AND MARKET COMMISSION. 
Far-sighted Legislation tor New York. 
OUTLINE OF THE PLAN".—The most compre¬ 
hensive, and to our mind the most beneficial piece of 
farm legislation ever proposed in this State is em¬ 
braced in a bill introduced in the Legislature last week 
for the creation of a Food and Market Commission for 
the State. The benefits of this measure are compre¬ 
hensive because the work must help every person who 
consumes farm food products, as well as every person 
engaged in the production of them. The bill proposes 
to create a single-headed commission. The Commission 
is charged with the duty of helping to organize co¬ 
operative societies of producers aud consumers, and to 
help establish and supervise local cooperative ware¬ 
houses and markets for the assembling and grading of 
farm products, the supply of local trade and the ship¬ 
ping of the surplus to general markets. In addition 
the Commissioner is required to establish an auction 
market at points in the State deemed advisable aud for 
this purpose he may acquire premises by lease, purchase 
or coudemnatiou as required. When the market is so 
established he will publish a notice for the benefit of 
shippers aud producers of farm food products. The 
products shipped to these auction markets will be sold 
by licensed auctioneers, bonded and licensed by the 
Commissioner. There is a provision that none but re¬ 
sponsible and high-class men would be selected for this 
service. The auctioneers will be entitled to charge a 
small commission for the sale of the produce, and this 
commission will be regulated by the Commissioner on 
schedules previously published by the Commissioner. 
It is expected that ultimately the markets will be self- 
sustaining, but the bill carries aa appropriation for 
initial expenses of the proposed department. 
GRADING AND SELLING.—The Commissioner 
will also provide trained experts to inspect and deter¬ 
mine the grade aud condition of the produce as it is re¬ 
ceived. The commissioner is charged with the duty of 
providing a proper place and proper safeguards for 
the care and distribution of goods consigned to these 
auction markets, and if for any reason the auctioneer 
is unable to sell any portion of the product at public 
auctiou, or if he is unable to sell it at auction at satis¬ 
factory prices, he is authorized to so sell and distribute 
the unsold portion at private sale at the best prices 
obtainable, and in all cases a prompt return must be 
made to the shipper after deducting the auctioneer’s 
commission and transportation charges. The Commis¬ 
sioner is also required to publish a daily bulletin giv¬ 
ing the price of the preceding day’s sales in all the 
Department markets of the State, and also giving ad¬ 
vice as to the available supply for the farm products, 
and the demand for same in local as well as in foreign 
markets. The Department is also required to prepare 
bulletins from time to time on the best methods of san¬ 
itization. packing and transportation of farm products, 
aud distribute such bulletins to consumers. 
TRANSPORTATION—The Department is also 
charged with the duty of investigating delays in trans¬ 
portation and to negotiate proceedings to prevent re¬ 
straint of trade or unlawful combinations to fix prices. 
It shall, when notified by producers that food products 
produced within the State seem likely to spoil for a 
ready market, make such suggestions to such producers, 
and take such steps as may seem advisable to facilitate 
the distribution and sale of such products. There are 
penalties provided for violation of the law or for neglect 
of duty on the part of auctioneers, inspectors, or other 
employees of the department. 
THE GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE—Governor Glynn 
called the attention of the Legislature to this bill in a 
strong and vigorous special message, from which we 
quote the following extracts: 
“Complaints have reached me from time to time that 
under present conditions consignees of farm goods fre¬ 
quently speculate iu such goods to the disadvantage of 
both producer and consumer. That they misstate the 
condition of the goods when received, and that they re¬ 
turn inadequate prices for the quality and grade of 
goods consigned to them. At present the farmer has no 
adequate means for redress. 
“No honest consignee of farm produce has anything 
to fear from the measure I propose. Twenty years ago 
France established auction markets and provided for 
publicly licensed auctioneers. Although only a com¬ 
paratively small percentage of produce sold by farm¬ 
ers throughout France now passes through the hands of 
these auctioneers, the fact that this method of selling 
is open to all producers and is comparatively free from 
all abuses and establishes prices in definite grades and 
measures, compels all produce dealers to treat their 
shippers with fairness. The system also eliminates the 
abuses of the present system where dishonest and un¬ 
scrupulous dealers practice methods detrimental to the 
honest dealer. It avoids the temptation of an honest 
dealer to meet competition by following the question¬ 
able methods of an unscrupulous competitor as a means 
of self defense. Under the auction system if the com¬ 
mission man or dealer treats a shipper unfairly their 
business automatically passes into the hands of the 
licensed auctioneer. 
A constant complaint from both producer and con¬ 
sumer is that dealers and many handlers of farm food 
products, prevent the regulation of price through the 
natural channel of supply and demand. A shortage of 
supply is invariably followed by an advance of prices 
to the consumer, but an increased supply does not re¬ 
sult in so prompt a reduction of the price established 
in the time of scarcity, and frequently no reduction 
whatever is made. As a result of this policy the finest 
of food products ofteu rot on the farms because the pro¬ 
ducer is not able to obtain enough for It in the 
wholesale markets to pay the cost of transportation 
and marketing, to say nothing of the cost of production, 
while the city consumer is obliged to pay for this 
identical kind of produce the high price demanded in 
season of such productions. Both producer and con¬ 
sumer are denied the benefit of the bountiful crop. Un¬ 
der the French system of auction markets this condi¬ 
tion cannot exist and does not exist because the low: 
price of a flush market stimulates the demand aud in¬ 
creases consumption of the production and automatic¬ 
ally increases the price given as the surplus disappears. 
“I propose to give the farmers of New York the same 
measure of protection which licensed auctioneers afford 
the French markets. After much consideration and 
consultation with farmers and consumers, I have 
reached the conclusion that this can be best effected 
through a single-headed Food and Market Commission. 
“What New York needs is a reliable meeting ground 
for the man who has produce to sell and the one who 
wants to- buy ; a place where they can make their ex¬ 
changes through a reliable intermediary with a fair 
charge for the service, and a place where prices must 
follow the natural law of supply and demand. Such 
a market system can be provided by the measure I 
suggest, and I urge it upon the earnest consideration 
of the Legislature.” 
New York State News. 
AYRSHIRE BREEDERS ORGANIZE.—The 
Northern New York Federation of Ayrshire Breeders 
is the name of a new organization of stockmen, formed 
at Camden, N. Y., on March 6. About 50 breeders were 
present from the four counties of Northern New York 
and an enthusiastic interest was manifested. The 
officers of the Federation are Geo. H. Converse of 
Woodville, president; A. F. Spooner of Richville, sec¬ 
retary-treasurer and a vice-president from each county. 
A representative breeder from about a dozen localities 
was appointed to look after the work of organization 
of local clubs. The Federation will meet annually in 
connection with the farmers’ week, at Canton. A 
field meeting will be held some time in June. 
BOOMING THE HOG.—And now the hog is to 
receive his due. Or to put it differently, an interest is 
to be stimulated in pork growing by the operation of 
a hog demonstration train on the New York Central 
which will run through some of the counties of the 
western part of the State beginning at Buffalo on 
March 16. H. P. Harpending of Dundee, will accom¬ 
pany the train and give talks and demonstrations on 
breeds, feeding, housing, etc. He will have assistants 
from the agricultural department. The train will con¬ 
sist of two coaches which will be fitted up for the 
purpose, one to be arranged for lantern slide talks and 
the other will carry the hogs used in the demonstra¬ 
tions. Two hour stops will be made at each point on 
the schedule. 
WILL IT WORK?—Something decidedly new in 
the line of help for the farmer is proposed by Gov. 
Glynn and Commissioner Huson. They propose to help 
him to secure help. Aud iu this way: A large num¬ 
ber of the unemployed men and their families will be 
transported from New York City to points in the Mo¬ 
hawk Valley where the farmers of that section will 
have opportunity to hire them to work on their farms. 
The labor bureau of the Department of Agriculture is 
to bear the expenses of the transportation, as this ex¬ 
pense has always been a deterring factor in inducing 
the farmer to secure his help through the bureau. If 
the plan works out as anticipated it is expected that 
at least two cars of laborers will be taken into the 
country every week during the Spring and as soon as 
the cars arrive at their destination farmers will be ad¬ 
vised and can come and make their own arrangements 
with the men. The first carload will leave New York 
this week. 
GOV. GLYNN AND THE COAL BILLS.—We 
think the Governor is on the right track in trying to 
get the coal supply of the various State institutions at 
a lower price. Up to this time each institution under 
control of the State has bought its own coal aud at 
such prices as it could obtain, with the probability that 
no very close attention was paid to the said prices. It 
appears that the coal bill for the State institutions 
amounts to somewhere about $1,000,000 a year. The 
Governor is informed by an engineer who has had much 
experience in the purchase of coal in large quantities, 
that the State can save $200,000 a year on its coal 
bill. It is proposed to purchase the entire supply of 
oue company aud so eliminate all dealers’ commissions 
and get the benefit of wholesale rates, which the Gov¬ 
ernor claims the State is not getting under the present 
methods. It is proposed to buy the coal at so much 
per heat unit, or ou the British thermal heat unit 
basis. If a standard ton of coal contains or develops 
14,000 heat units and the price per standard ton is $4, 
then whatever the coal develops, under sample test, 
will be paid for ou the basis above named. If less than 
14.000 units then the purchaser can claim an indem¬ 
nity from the coal company for each thousand units 
less than the standard, aud if it develops more than 
the 14,000 then the State shall pay for the extra 
thousands of beat units. 
