9a 
American Agriculturist, August 11,1923 
Looking Into the Dark 
Growers Should Know More About Their Markets 
M UCH has been made 
of the phrase 
By PAUL WORK 
‘What Happens in the Dark,” with 
special reference to the long trail which 
produce must follow from farm to table. 
One of the chief reasons why we do 
not know what happens in the dark 
is thi.t we have not looked. Of course, 
that is not the 
only reason, but 
it is a reason 
that is at least 
in some degree 
under our con¬ 
trol. Not all pro¬ 
ducers get to 
New York even 
occasionally, but 
there are hun¬ 
dreds who visit 
the Metropolis 
and come away 
no more market- 
wise than when 
they went. Any- 
PAUL WORK one who sells a 
car load of cab¬ 
bage or potatoes could well afford to 
travel four hundred miles to spend a 
couple of nights on the markets of 
some great city. 
A Matter of Business 
Most of us feel some diffidence about 
exploring places with which we are 
not familiar. Knowing markets is a 
matter of business and we can well 
afford to. calm our qualms and to move 
about with freedom and to ask ques¬ 
tions as the spirit moves. ’Tis true, 
one will meet occasional rebuffs. Just 
pass on and try another. The produce 
trade is full of 
men who are cour¬ 
teous and willing 
to help. It is neces¬ 
sary to remember 
;hat the salesmen 
lave their busy 
lours and if your 
or some other fel- 
ow’s shipment of 
peas or lettuce is 
not sold at once it 
is not likely to be 
sold at all. The 
lest time to see is 
early. The best 
rime to talk is af¬ 
ter the bulk of the 
trade is over. 
There are many 
Ways . to secure 
help i n getting 
acquainted with 
markets. Talk to 
your local produce 
dealer at home be¬ 
fore you start. 
Look up the office 
of the State De- 
partment of 
Farms and Mar¬ 
kets if it is New 
York. Those i n 
charge will gladly 
direct you. I n 
other cities find 
the market master 
or ask on the mar¬ 
ket for an officer of 
the local growers’ 
association. Work 
up a party from a Grange or local club 
to make a market trip and arrange in 
advance for a guide from the city of¬ 
ficials or the State Department. The 
New York State Vegetable Growers’ As¬ 
sociation might well stage a market 
trip to New York, perhaps including a 
tour among the garden sections of 
Long Island with which very few up¬ 
state people are familiar. 
Whatever others may or may not do, 
it is possible for any grower at mod¬ 
erate cost to learn a great deal about 
the channels through which the things 
he sells must pass, and the investment 
of time and money is bound to prove 
profitable in more ways than one. 
Looking down in a corner of G-anse- 
voort market. The rigs belong to 
growers, speculators, grocers and 
hucksters 
night (July 16) in the 
field. The first cutting 
brought six cents per pound and the 
second will command the same. No 
one of the four or five Wakefield 
strains has done as well for either 
earliness or weight. Also one strain 
of Copenhagen is larger and later, not 
necessarily any poorer but certainly 
not suited for first early. 
It would be interesting to both writer 
and reader, to say right here and now 
who produced the good seed of Copen¬ 
hagen. The most of the samples in 
the trial came directly from seed grow¬ 
ers, so that the identity of the stocks is 
fairly definite. There are at least three 
reasons why such findings are not pub¬ 
licly and definitely announced. 
Only to Compare Varieties 
First, this trial like many others, has 
not been thoroughly and carefully 
enough conducted. The purpose was 
merely to gain an idea of varietal 
types, not to make an exhaustive com¬ 
parison of strains. 
Second, growing conditions are im¬ 
portant. One sort that was of the best 
last year, lags this, probably because 
it does not stand drouth as well as 
some others. Other soils and other 
locations might give a very different 
list. 
Third, serious difficulties are in¬ 
volved in announcing the relative 
merit and demerit of commercial 
commodities. It is difficult to be fair 
to all. 
Definite information as to sources of 
some seeds is being circulated. This 
is an experiment worth trying. It re¬ 
mains to be seen 
how far it can 
go. Perhaps much 
can be done in 
this line. In the 
last analysis the 
decision will have 
to remain with the 
seed buyer in the 
light of such help 
as can be given 
him. 
* * * 
Lettuce Competi¬ 
tion 
Competition be¬ 
tween the muck- 
land growers of 
Big Boston lettuce 
and the Rocky 
Mountain growers 
o f Iceberg type 
lettuce, is very 
keen this summer. 
Such varieties as 
Iceberg, and New 
York or Wonder¬ 
ful are being tried 
out in the East. 
Big Boston i s 
spoken of as a but¬ 
ter-heading lettuce 
while the others 
are called crisp¬ 
heading. The lat¬ 
ter makes a larger 
and harder and 
crisper head but 
many think it 
lacks in delicacy. 
If the markets want the Iceberg 
type, however, they will have it and 
there will be another adjustment to be 
made in the business—as usual. 
/ 
* 
Cutting Early Cabbage 
Just to-day I have been taking notes 
on eighteen short rows of early cab¬ 
bage. This was the second cutting. 
Of twenty heads, in one of the rows of 
Copenhagen, but two will spend this 
Greenhouse Bulletins 
James H. Beattie is the author of 
two new Farmers’ Bulletins that deal 
with greenhouse management and 
greenhouse vegetable production. 
The first, No. 1318, is entitled “Green¬ 
house Construction and Heating.” It 
describes types of houses, lays down 
principles of construction, defines terms 
used and fully illustrates plans and 
parts. Much concise information on 
heating is offered. Small houses for 
the beginner are treated as well as 
larger ranges. 
The second bulletin, No. 1320, is 
on “The Production of Cucumbers in 
the Greenhouse.” This is to be fol¬ 
lowed by others on additional glass¬ 
house crops. 
Right There _^ 
is where you win or lose . 
What goes into the feed trough is what makes or breaks 
the profits of dairying. Especially is this so at this time of 
the year when pastures are short and dry. 
Without the right kind of grain ration your cows are go¬ 
ing to lose flesh, consequently their milk flow is going to 
lessen. And once a bad slump in production sets in, your 
herd cannot recover from it in time to produce heavily in the 
fall season of higher milk prices. 
Now, before it’s too late, supplement your tmnning pas¬ 
ture with a good grain ration. Try DIAMOND CORN 
GLUTEN MEAL in this mixture: 
400 lbs. DIAMOND 
300 lbs. Hominy 
100 lbs. Wheat Bran , 
200 lbs. Brewers Grains 
There’s a ration that has saved many a herd from a late- 
summer slump, and saved many a farmer a lot of money-—'' 
another reason why DIAMOND is 
Corn Products Refining Co. 
New York Chicago 
40% Protein 
Also Mfrs. of ( 
23% Protein 
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