PRACTICAL PAPERS—MARKET GARDENING. 
161 
cago market was no better, and we had to thank the commis¬ 
sion men that they did not call on us for a bonus above the 
proceeds of the sales to pay percentage and the expenses. 
Crops began to accumulate on our hands; something must be 
done, and that quickly, or it would be all over with our little 
venture of twenty acres. We noticed one marked peculiarity 
of this flooding the market in our city; the consumer was pay¬ 
ing all the while nearly or quite as much as before, and it oc¬ 
curred to us that if we could sell at that price our little ven¬ 
ture would be safe. 
Accordingly, early one morning we started out a salesman 
with a good load under instructions to seek retail sales from 
hotels, boarding-houses and private families, with a promise of 
daily calls if sufficiently patronized. At noon he returned 
with an empty wagon, and the proceeds, not only the whole¬ 
sale price but also the retailer's profits, which usually range 
from twenty-five to fifty per cent. From that day to this, 
nearly four years, we have pursued the same course, and now 
keep three and .sometimes four wagons going through the sea¬ 
son. True, this is a considerable expense, but the retail profits 
more than pay it, and we secure what is so necessary for suc¬ 
cess in gardening —a certainty of a market at paying rates. Iam 
confident that outside of the immediate vicinity of Milwaukee 
and Chicago no other way of marketing his products will in¬ 
sure the gardener such liberal and certain results. Shipping to 
a distant market is very rarely profitable, and always risky. 
First, the expenses are heavy—careful packing, cost of pack¬ 
ages, exorbitant freight and commission all come from the low¬ 
est wholesale price, often of a flooded market. Then again 
even with the greatest care in packing, unfavorable weather, 
bad handling and storage will cause large quantities often to 
heat and spoil, and then you not only lose the crop but added 
thereto all these expenses and an additional charge for carting 
them to the river. Whereas with our method of marketing 
we avoid all these expenses and obtain the highest retail price, 
and never yet failed to sell our crop. 
11— Ag. Tr. 
