61 , 2 ? 
American Agriculturist, June 16^ 1923 
Marketing Fruits and Vegetables 
An A. A. Radio Talk Broadcast on June 13 at 6:50 P. M. from MVEAF 
O NCE more the round of seasons be¬ 
gins to bring nearby producing sec¬ 
tions into consideration in the big 
New York wholesale market. In 
the farmers’ public markets the variety and 
quantity of new green vegetables is steadily 
increasing. Southern New Jersey has been 
sending lettuce, asparagus, beets and other 
new vegetables to New York for several 
weeks, and New Jersey is now vying with 
Maryland as a source of supply of straw¬ 
berries. 
Among the vegetables now coming from 
Long Island and other nearby trucking sec¬ 
tions are asparagus, beet tops, carrots, dill, 
kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, onions, parsley, 
radishes, rhubarb, romaine, sour grass, 
spinach, Brussel sprouts, turnips, and hot¬ 
house cauliflower and tomatoes. 
Hudson River strawberries made their 
first appearance of the season last week. In 
spite of a glut in the supply of straw¬ 
berries and a very weak market, these first 
Hudson River berries brought 15 to 25c per 
quart, wholesale. Rhubarb and a few early 
vegetables are also coming now from the 
Hudson Valley. 
Orange County, New York, began shipping 
spinach last week. The first shipment was 
sold at 50c per 5 peck hamper. 
Gradually the centers of production shift 
northward from mid-winter to fall. It is 
fascinating to watch the never-ending pro¬ 
cession of fresh-grown things in the New 
York wholesale market. The one thing that 
large growers and marketing organizations 
aim for, especially in the distant States, is 
By HERSCHEL H. JONES 
to have their product in the market when 
supplies from elsewhere are light. So keen 
and so nation-wide is the competition of 
perishable farm products, that in New York 
and other large sections the people hardly 
know when a thing is in season. With few 
exceptions, the man. who makes most money 
out of shipping to the New York market is 
the one who gets his produce there when the 
other fellow doesn’t have any. 
With such a commodity as watermelons, 
of course, weather is the biggest factor in 
making a market. Very little changes in 
temperature or humidity may make a huge 
difference in appetite of ten million people. 
The recent hot spell, for example, caused an 
increased demand for fresh salad vegetables, 
that reflected itself in higher prices and de¬ 
mand for many carloads more per day. Cu¬ 
cumbers, the best of which are now coming 
from South Carolina, went up to $6 and $7 
per bushel crate, wholesale. If one-third of 
the ten million people supplied through the 
New York market suddenly decide to eat 
salad instead of heavier vegetables or meats, 
the sense of this increased demand passes 
quickly back from retailer to jobber, and 
from jobber to wholesaler. 
It is the influence of such factors that 
cause demand to fluctuate that is often not 
understood*by the man in the country. Sup¬ 
ply is only part of what makes a market. 
And the most expert salesmen in the produce 
business, gauge all the factors that make the 
market chiefly by instinct or feeling. Strange 
as it may seem there is little science to the 
game of selling perishables as it is now 
practiced. 
From the producers’ standpoint, however, 
here are some suggestions to keep in mind in 
marketing this season’s fruits and veg- ’ 
etables: 
(1) Efficient transportation and market¬ 
ing are as essential to your success as effi¬ 
cient production. 
(2) Grading for absolute uniformity in 
size, quality, freshness and freedom from 
disease always pays. Keep the culls at home, i 
or sell them as such, and you’ll make more 
money out of the crop. The United States 
Department of Agriculture has standard 
grades for a long list of farm products which 
are furnished free on application. 
(3) Method of packing and the .package 
itself have a lot to do with selling anything. 
Buyers buy by their eyes. It pays to'have 
the package the trade wants and to pack 
as the market requires. 
(4) If shipping to New York wholesale 
market, arrange your shipments so as to get 
them in before midnight, or not later than 
2 A. M. so as to be there when the'market is 
at its best. 
(5) Utilize the public information at your 
disposal through government reports, news¬ 
papers, and our own market page to keep in 
close touch with market conditions. 
What I have said has necessarily been very 
general, but whenever you want specific in¬ 
formation on your own marketing problem, 
write to the American Agriculturist and we’ll 
get it for you. 
Can You Tell What Teazles Are Used For? 
Little is Known of This Farm Enterprise Centered Around Skaneateles, N. Y. 
Y our editor has asked me to tell you 
about teazles, probably because I 
used to, as county agent, work with 
farmers around Skaneateles, which 
is the center of the teazle production in the 
United States. 
Teazle burrs are used by manufacturers 
of woolens to bring up the nap. To date no 
invention of man has succeeded in providing 
a better means than nature provided to do 
this job, particularly on the finer worsteds 
and broadcloth. 
In order to have this story relate the ex¬ 
perience of a teazle grower, I went to our 
G. L. F. Agent, George M. Talcott who with 
his partner Mr. Feeley runs the stone mill 
at Skaneateles. It was in the feed store that 
Mr. Talcott gave me his experiences in grow¬ 
ing teazles which he characterizes as not 
making him rich by any means, but grow¬ 
ing teazles had saved his neck several times. 
Mr. Talcott always farmed it until recently 
when he moved to town. He still operates 
several farms with his tenants. Teazles, 
with him, fitted into the rotation of general 
crops such as wheat, corn, oats, cabbage, po¬ 
tatoes and hay which are grown around 
Skaneateles. 
Introduced in 1820 
It was William Snooks, an Englishman, 
who in 1820 started the teazle industry in 
Skaneateles by bringing seeds from England 
and planting them in what proved to be soil 
well adapted to their growth. Since that 
time the teazle industry continually developed 
until a few years before the war when prices 
were so low that there was a considerable 
falling off in teazle planting. 
George Godfrey proved that Skaneateles 
By E. C. WEATHERBY 
was best adapted to the growing of teazles 
when he, as an experienced hand at the 
game, went to Oregon some 25 years ago and 
tried to establish the industry there. It is 
reported that he raised a fair quality of 
teazles but could not market them because 
of the lack of local marketing facilities and 
high transportation costs in getting the com¬ 
modity to market. 
Two Years to Get a Crop 
As nearly as I could find out, it is the cum¬ 
ulative experience gained after many years 
growing teazles plus the marketing facilities 
that are available at Skaneateles that make 
this town at the foot of the beautiful 
Skaneateles Lake famous as the center of 
the teazle industry. 
As far as soil conditions are concerned, 
there are many theories. We do know that 
Skaneateles is in the limestone section, that 
the water from the lake is considered the 
purest, being used to supply the city of Syra¬ 
cuse. Oats in the section stand up till 
harvest time, while in other sections they go 
down badly. 
Teazle seeds have to be planted early in 
the spring in rows three feet apart and 
covered with about a half inch of soil. As 
they come along, they are thinned out to 
from four to five inches apart in the row. At 
corn planting time a hill of corn is put in 
the row about every six feet. Corn is planted 
in order to have a break that will catch the 
snow in the winter and keep the teazle plant 
well covered, as winterkilling is one of the 
most severe handicaps to the industry. The 
cornstalks are left standing, the corn being 
pulled in the western style. During the sec¬ 
ond season beginning early in the spring, 
shallow cultivation and occasional hoeing is 
necessary, as it is during this season that 
the plant throws out the shoots that bear 
the burrs. 
After wheat is cut and in the barn, the 
harvesting of teazles begins. This is usually 
between July 20 and August 10. Experienced 
cutters, using a hooked knife, cut the ripe 
teazles about five inches below the burr. The 
patch is cut over three times and the cuttings 
are about a week apart. 
The teazles as cut are piled in large two 
bushel baskets which are dumped in hay 
racks with tight bottoms which stand at the 
end of the rows. These hay racks are used 
to draw the teazles to the barn. 
Harvested After Wheat 
Another reason why teazles are not gen¬ 
erally grown is that there is special equip¬ 
ment necessary in curing them. The barn 
has to have ventilation something like a 
tobacco drying house and the teazles are 
piled on slate bottomed racks. These racks 
are made with loose 2" x 3" pieces laid about 
three inches apart. The teazles are piled on 
these to a depth of two feet. 
Two or three days after being placed on 
the drying racks these bottom pieces are 
turned on edge and in a couple more days 
every other piece is pulled out. This pro¬ 
vides for a better circulation of air. 
Once the burrs are properly cured, they 
are let down on the barn floor and stored 
until winter when they are delivered to the 
buyer’s warehouse in the village. They are 
drawn without grading in the large hay 
{Continued on paqe 507) 
