1172 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
Business 
Peaches by Parcel Post. 
Can peaches be successfully shipped by 
parcel post? 
It evidently depends upon the variety, 
the condition of the fruit when picked, 
and also the package. We have received 
many packages here. The greater pro¬ 
portion of them have come in poor con¬ 
dition, so that the shipping was not sat¬ 
isfactory. A few naturally firm varieties 
have carried well, but we have not been 
inclined to advise general shipment by 
parcel post. We now have an experiment 
on hand which is interesting in this con¬ 
nection. 
Mr. L. C. Stark of Missouri tried out 
the shipping qualities of the Early El- 
berta peach. In order to give this a su¬ 
preme test he requested Dr. Sumner 
Gleason of Ivaysville, Utah, to pack six 
pasteboard boxes of peaches. Each box 
was to contain six peaches, each fruit 
wrapped in paraffin paper. The peaches 
were to be put into boxes firmly with ex¬ 
celsior on top. The pasteboard boxes 
were then closed and fastened with fine 
wire. Three of these boxes were tied to¬ 
gether in one package, using a single 
thickness of brown paper. These were 
sent by parcel post, the other three box¬ 
es were packed in exactly the same way 
but were sent by express. Both pack¬ 
ages were sent to The Rural New- 
Yorker in New York City. Both pack¬ 
ages reached us on September 0. The 
parcel post package came about 15 min¬ 
utes in advance of the other. We opened 
one box from each package, leaving the 
other two boxes intact. After their trip 
of 2,100 miles the peaches were in fine 
condition, with scarcely a blemish or 
speck upon them. A picture of one of 
these peaches is shown here, and also a 
picture of the package in which the fruit 
reached us. There was practically no 
difference in condition between the 
peaches which came by parcel post and 
those by express; both lots were in ex¬ 
cellent condition. As soon as possible 
after making this examination we re¬ 
packed the remaining boxes. Two of 
them were sent by parcel post and the 
other two by express in the same kind of 
package which came to us. They were 
both forwarded to Prof. E. ,T. Wickson, 
Berkeley, Cal. The rate on the parcel 
post package to California was 48 cents 
and that on the express package of the 
same size was 66 cents. Prof. Wickson, 
on receipt of these packages, is to open 
one box from each package and observe 
the condition of the fruit, and then send 
the remaining boxes by parcel post and 
express back to Des Moines, Iowa. This 
certainly ought to give a thorough trial 
by parcel post in peaches. Surely the 
fruit reached us after 2,000 miles in ex¬ 
cellent shape. Whether it can stand the 
California trip is a question. It is evi¬ 
dent, however, that this matter of ship¬ 
ping peaches by parcel post will finally 
come down very largely to the question of 
suitable variety. What we need as the 
ideal is a peach of the finest flavor en¬ 
closed in a shell much like that of a 
peanut. 
The Tenant’s Share of Pure-blood Stock. 
Last Spring I commenced working a 
farm on shares. The agreement was that 
owner was to furnish one-half of all seed 
and phosphate and all of the cows. I was 
to furnish one-half of seed and phosphate, 
and all tools, horses and labor to work 
farm ; each one to receive one-lialf of 
everything raised on the farm. We start¬ 
ed with good grade cows, which the owner 
has now replaced with purebreds, but 
does not want to give me one-half of the 
calves raised from the purebred stock. 
Am I entitled to half of the increase 
from the purebreds? If not, what is a 
fair division of the increase from stock 
>n such cases? What is the general rule 
in leasing dairy farms? g. d. b. 
New York. 
We have had several cases like this— 
some of them where the farm is owned 
by a woman. A contract is made on the 
usual basis where the proceeds or in¬ 
crease would be from common stock. 
Then this common stock is disposed of 
and purebred stock worth very much more 
substituted. Of course, the income from 
the higher class stock will be greater and 
the owner will have more money invested 
in the farm. Where does the tenant come 
in on this change? In most such cases, 
unconsciously or otherwise, such a busi¬ 
ness divides into three equal parts. Real 
estate represents one and labor another— 
owner and tenant standing equal on these 
two parts. In this case the third part 
or personal property is equally divided. 
Each furnishes one-half the cost of seed 
and fertilizer, and the value of the grade 
cows is supposed to equal that of the 
tools and horses. Thus each furnishes 
half of the personal property and is right¬ 
ly entitled to half the proceeds. Now 
how much more are purebred cattle worth 
than the grade cows, or how much more 
than the tools and horses? The arrange¬ 
ment is still even up to the question of 
live stock, and there should be an equal 
division of everything except the calves. 
We should settle this by making a fair 
assessment of the value of the purebred 
cattle and of the tools and horses. Sup¬ 
pose as an illustration the cattle are 
worth $1,000 and the tools and teams 
$800. In such case the owner should have 
five-ninths of the increase and the ten¬ 
ant four-ninths. We see no fairer way 
of settling the case, for the owner is en¬ 
titled to a larger share if he invests 
more money, and thus increases the earn¬ 
ing capacity of the farm. 
Shipping Eggs by Parcel Post. 
I think I can count on your active in¬ 
terest in the effort many are making to 
ship eggs by parcel post. It must be con¬ 
fessed, however, that one feature of dis¬ 
couragement is to be found in the con¬ 
tinuous mal-handling of eggs in transit 
It has been going on for some time. Pro¬ 
tests and particulars to the Post Office 
Department apparently accomplish noth¬ 
ing. We producers and shippers of eggs 
certainly use the best packages obtain¬ 
able, and pack with particular care. Yet 
the smashing continues. This is espe¬ 
cially true of shipments to New York 
and vicinity. From my record I copy as 
follows to illustrate: To Yonkers, June 
9, three smashed; June 10, two; July 
7, five; July 14, three. To Bayonne,, N. 
J., August 27, 5. The above are but a 
part of the cases reported to me by dis¬ 
gusted customers. It is difficult to recon¬ 
cile a customer to receiving smashed eggs, 
lie won’t stand for it. lie is willing to 
pay a fancy price for a fancy article, but 
that is not to be found in a package 
daubed from cover to cover with yolk and 
shell, and that bears unmistakable evi¬ 
dence of having been mal-handled in 
transit. 
If rules laid down and enforced in other 
businesses can stop abuses of this nature, 
then it can be done by those in authority 
in the Post Office Department. If they 
continue, as they do, then it points to 
but two causes; viz., indifference, or in¬ 
competence on the part of those in charge 
of the parcel post. 
Naturally, I am interested to know 
whether this indifference of the Post Office 
Department has got to be put up with— 
whether there is any remedy, short of 
discontinuing the service and the busi¬ 
ness? The It. N.-Y. has great influence; 
perhaps it will take an active interest 
toward helping solve this problem. I for 
one should appreciate its championship. 
Massachusetts. J. w. carey. 
R. N.-l r .—We are certainly interested 
and will help all we can. We wrote to 
the Postmaster General and on page 1164 
you may read the reply. The depart¬ 
ment wants proof. This is an oppor¬ 
tunity and we will follow it up. Send 
the facts promptly to Washington and 
we will see to it that they are not put 
into a pigeon hole to incubate! 
Premiums at County Fairs. 
A few years ago one of my neighbors 
received over $50 in premiums on fruits, 
vegetables, etc., that she had taken *.o 
September 25, 1915, 
the county fair. It wasn’t that she had 
such a good garden, for I had seen bet¬ 
ter, but that she had the gift of selection. 
Moreover, she had been cultivating that 
gift for a dozen years or so by planting 
and working with a possible premium in 
view. She had studied her market, so 
to speak, and had learned the best types 
of fruits and vegetables, and always 
selected the most perfect specimens for 
entry. Also everything was made to look 
its best. The canned tomatoes were whole 
and perfect, the can lid was new and 
shiny and the can itself was polished to 
the last degree. Her cucumbers were 
clean and crisp and cool looking, and all 
the same size and appearance. Iler ap¬ 
ples had been polished till they shone, 
and there was not a blemish on one of 
them. She used clear white glass jars 
for her fruit and was very careful that 
it was not over-ripe. 
Then her baking alwajs took a pre¬ 
mium. Her prize pumpkin pie was made 
without eggs. She used the usual recipe, 
substituting a tablespoonful of cornstarch 
and a half teaspoonful of baking powder 
for the egg required for one pie. 
It was a revelation to sit at her table. 
She would have six kinds of vegetables, 
all from her garden, besides jellies 
and marmalades, pickles and jams. There 
would be fresh fruit and two kinds of 
pie and cake galore. It always seemed 
like a mystery how they lived so well 
and spent so little for groceries, but when 
one produces everything that goes toward 
making a good meal there is little left to 
buy but tea, coffee and sugar. The hams 
came from their smokehouse and the 
corned beef from their cellar. The orchard 
paid big dividends and the berry patch 
likewise. The returned prodigal fared no 
better than they. 
It seems like a good idea, this looking 
forward to making things turn out per¬ 
fect and worthy of a premium. One 
feels more enthusiasm than in just grow¬ 
ing things “to eat.” Notwithstanding the 
seedsmen, every one ought to grow some 
seeds, not of just one thing but a little 
of everything he plants. Give your gar¬ 
den the best cultivation possible. Watch 
it, live with it. If just one radish or just 
one tomato or just one sweet pea out¬ 
strips all others save that one for seed. 
This is the way to get better things. Keep 
experimenting. Seedsmen are always on 
the lookout for new things. Grow some 
of the novelties; they take well at a fair. 
One has only to look around to find in¬ 
finite possibilities. 
Indiana. IDA M. JACKSON. 
Salesman for Farmers. 
Our “odd” note this month comes from 
a man who suggests a “salesman” to han¬ 
dle produce from farmers. In theory this 
is sound, but there would have to be good 
business organization among the farmers 
and sharp oversight of the salesman. 
This is the way to do it if there can be 
honest business methods on both sides: 
Hardly a week passes but what_ your 
paper publishes an article on the 35 cent 
dollar. It seems to me that a farmer 
ought to realize full value on liis pro¬ 
duce if properly managed. This week 
comes an article on retailing eggs through 
the newsboy. I would suggest the follow¬ 
ing for the farmers and your criticism. 
How would the farmer consider a plan 
whereby he would send his produce to 
one man who would act as a common 
salesman for all, sell direct to retailer 
and give the farmer the gross proceeds 
of the sale, the farmer allowing the sales¬ 
man a certain percent for service ren¬ 
dered? Would not the farmer realize 
more than a 35-ceut dollar and more 
than the commission man allows him? 
If this proDosition should appeal to the 
farmer I propose to act as a salesman in 
the above capacity, giving bond as securi- 
tv and such references as may be desired. 
‘ Ohio. H. F- T - 
Here is another instance of what might 
be done by cooperation between buyer 
and seller. This man lives on Cape Cod, 
where potatoes are greatly needed for 
fishballs and chowder. “Hands across 
the water” to him from the potato coun¬ 
try. 
I read in Tiie R. N.-Y. where some 
farmers get almost nothing for their po¬ 
tatoes. If you would put this in the pa¬ 
per perhaps I could sell one or two car¬ 
loads for some farmer. I am a truck 
farmer and I could sell quite a lot ot 
potatoes to my customers, and some W in¬ 
ter cabbage. There are not many pota¬ 
toes here this year. We are getting $1 
a bushel now, but Winter potatoes sell 
anvwhere from 80 to 90 cents a bushel. 
u. s. 
Early Elberta Peach After 2,100 Mile Trip. 
