Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1891-11-07
The sweet Potato.

sweet potato in Accomac county, as
given in Mr.. LeCato's letter in a form
er issue OF your paper, was both in
teresting and instructive. We do
not agree with him entirely as to
his reasons for the low prices and in
ferior quality of the potatoes ship
ped.
Undoubtedly, the old plan of re-
ceiving in open packages was check
on any tendency to bad culling on
the part of the growers. Did we not
get our ideas of shipping in covered
barrels from the Jersey farmer? Jer-
sey potatoes are now sent to market
in barrels covered the same as ours,
and yet there is a difference in the
price per barrel from So to 80 cents,
which means, (if Eastern Shore pota-
toes were us good and as well culleO
$1oO,OO0,00 to Accomac county at u
fair estimate of the number Of barrels
raised
For several years after the intro
duction of barrels and covers the
complaint of bad stock was not gen.
eral enough to injure the sale of the
entire crop of Eastern Shor, pota-
toes. 1t is sufficiently known now,
however, and buyers have learned
to b ,ware. Since covered barrels
came into use we have known names
whose initials were a guarantee of
the quality Of their stock and it al
ways sold alta premium.
1t is only of late years, that we
hear so much COMPLAINT about badly
culled potatoes, end in orr opinion
the origin of it is twosoll. There are
two causes producing the same result.
1t is n we'll known fact, that he Bal
timora produce commission me-
chants, those handling our potatoes,
inaugusaied "a system of sen5irg one
price to al shippers without any
reference to the quality CT goNfs
sent. In other WORDS, if A. potato
bronght Sc ne. barrel and BIS $3.50
per barre. thew would strike an
AVERAGE and send both s""E. Not
ten days ago. farmer told INC he
had letter from one of tle lar.-cet
commission houses in raltimn-e tel
lirg him mot to Gull hui 70 rut in
everything. . Conld anything he
more destructive to quality and final
ly to prices?
Aud this uniformity ofpr'ces to all
is the prime cause of the evil of bad
stock. This being true, think we
may without injustice lay q greater
part of tie blame, if not all, at the
door of the Baltimore commission
merchants Ard with them is lodged
the power to make every shipper
properly Gull and pat up his produce
for market. 1t is impossible to go
back to the old system of open pack
ages, ror is it at all practicable to
have inspectors at the different de-
pots of shipment. The consignec
can, if he will apply the remedy, and
the result will be a prompt return to
a better quality Of goods shipped.
But GO not underst and me to charge
the commits on merchant with being
The cause of the low price of sweets
this season-I believe the price is
lower than it would have been by
reason of their system of returns,
and yet potatoes would have been
low this year, no matter how well
put up for market.
The principal reason for the low
price of sweets is the great abund-
ance OF all otf er crops. The country
hes never known such q year of
abundance of apples, peaches, grapes
&C.. and the low price of these pro-
ducts proves the truth of my position.
There is very little demand for sweets,
good OF bad. However, if they had
been properly put up for market,
Accomac county would have realized
at least S1O0,00o,OO more on her crop
than she will-at liberal estimate
1t is evident from what we have
shown, that the Baltimore commits
sion merchants have by their un-
business-like methods damaged Ac-
comac county this year at least many
thousand dollars, because they are
responsible, not for the demand for
sweets, but for the quality of them
when shipped.
But no law can be violated with
impunity. no matter whether it be
natural law, or moral law. When we
are sick it is evident that we have VIC
lated some law of health and our
sickL ess is the result. The same law
is in operation everywhere through
out the universe. The merchant
who sells AS goods for the same price
he does BIS when AS are worth double
the price of BIS, violates the law of
equity and fair dealing-this of course
produces result in keeping and the
consequence is the dishonest pack
age-on account of which all East
ern Shore sweets suffer a reduction
of from 25 TO 80 cents per barrel.
The cloud is never so dark and
over shadowing but what we may
find some trace Of brightness beyond
if we look for it. Our trouble rs we
always look at the dark side, in fact,
we look at it until the bright side