The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-11-24
About Marketing Apples.

Complaint is frequently heard con-
corning the quality of apples sold in
city markets, and even by the best |
dealers. The trouble arises from the |
fact that the grading is not done at the |
right time, nor at the proper place.
Not one farmer in five knows, or prob |
ably cares, what constitutes first-class
marketable apple. The fault lies with
the farmer and with the country dealer.
Apples are gathered up largely by
buyers who 60 through the country
with teams, in many instances barrel
ing the fruit in the orchards as it is
gathered, and thence sending it di-
rectly to the market. Every fall class
of men, generally sharp, shrewd fell
lows, who have always by them little
ready cash, go into the apple business
with active energy. The point is to make
money, and to make it quickly. Their
plan OF operation is to start buyers cut
over the country, and to also have de-
| pot or wareroom in the county-seat.
There man is stationed to take care
of what is brought in by the farmers
| themselves. Some attempt is made at
sorting, so far as relates to keeping diff
| ferent varieties separate, but no atten-
ton, at most not sufficient attention, is
paid to other details Of far more i'm
Dortance.
In frst-clasS apples uniformity of
size is desirable; in the next place,
soundness If an apple be wormy, if
the worm-hole is red and discolored, or
if the fruit is bruised, no matter how
slightly, then it is second-class fruit,
Agh Ia o1o
fall apples or those which have been
shaken from the trees should never be
put with fruit which has been carefully
picked. Apples may appear to be
perfectly sound and yet have lain so
long under the trees as to be scarce
ly rated as secOnd-class fruit.
Small fruit is apt to be hard and green,
as well as knotty and wormv, while
very large apples are just as likely to
be over-ripe, soft and utterly unfit for
long keeping No light, spongy ap-
Piles, nor those in the least specked
should be packed with frst-class fruit.
A leading horticulturist has well said
that if farmers and frUit-growers were
to throw all small and inferior grades
away and not use them at all, the ia
creased price their good fruit would
command would more than pay them
for the loss. This is true; but it is
well known that it is not necessary to
throw these grades away. They need
not be lost; they have use, and can
be turned to profit, but not by mixing
them in with that which is branded and
sold as q first-class article. These
grades are valuable for cider and vim
egar making, and should be so used.
Butit seems that short-sighted greed
impels some farmers and fruit-growers
to put inferior fruit into barrels with
the good fruit and delude themselves
with the idea that they are making by
the operation. If the entire crop of
an orchard is second class it will pay
to grade it as such. If, out of yield
of 500 bushels, 100 are first-class, care
fully grade them as such and let the
rest go for what they will bring as sec
Cnd-class fruit. Sober thought will
convince the farmer shat his own Inter
ests will be advanced by following at
least some of the advice here given.
| With the demand that exists for good
cider vinegar, and with the prices he
can obtain for first-class or even sec
ond-elass fruit, by careful management
the orchard can be made to pay in the
future far better thanit has in the past.
--ChicGqo Tribune.