Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-08-11

Preparing Truck for Market. tsrow-
ing seed


town last week, Mr.. B. f. straughn, Of
Pedricktown, made an address on shipping
and marketing produce, from which we
quote =
All kinds of produce, he said, = that is
to be marketed, should be carefully put up.
Unless this is done, it will not sell. Too
many farmers think only of selling their
produce, without regard to what they get
for it. We have found it pays hest to put
up the produce with care, and make it
uniform all the way through, from top to
bottom. Some farmers put up anything
for market, topping the baskets Tomatoes
especially must be put up right. The
commission men can turn up basket Of
potatoes and see what they look like in the
bottom of the basket. With tomatoes they
cannot do this
In selling, we have come to the con-
clusion that Philadelphia is the best market
for general produce but it is not a good
market for sweet potatoes. There are
probably 500, 600 people in Philadelphia
who do not eat sweet potatoes. Cleveland
consumes three times as many sweet pota-
toes as Philadelphia, aud Chicago probably
four times as many as the Quaker City.
Mr. STRAIT. .ghn has decided opinions about
some things, and he did not hesitate to
declare that there is good deal Of rascality
among the truckers in marketing produce,
because so much inferior stuff is covered up
by.a light covering of good stuff on the top
of the basket.
Mr. Straughn was practicularly severe on
the Fish and Game Wardens, declaring that
these officials are not needed, as there are
enough laws to protect the game, and the
farmer can look after the protection Of
sufficient game for his own needs. and that
is enough Instead of these Game War
dens we had better haye produce inspectors
stationed at every place from whence pro-
duce is shipped, with power to arrest and
put heavy fine on all those who seek to
ship inferior produce.
We hear the plea made to justify the
shipping of inferior produce, that it is
needed for the poor people in the cities, as
they can't afford to buy the better quality.
This is absolutely fallacious. It is the rich
people who buy the inferior produce as a
rule, while the poorer classes are the ones
that buy the best. 1t is the restaurant man
who buys the small sweet patato, so he can
cut it III two to sell to his customers.
If we could keep the trash out of the
market we would find ready sale for all
good produce and at remuneratiye price.
1t has been a saying on the farm, to sell all
the good produce, and keep the poor quality
for use in the home, especially what cannot
be Sold Mr.. Straughn was very emphatic
in saying he did not believe in any such
method.
Good produce soon gets name and
then its stamp will always recommend
it, because it viii mean good article
every time, and will guarantee a better
price as rule than that received for the
average put on the market.
He instanced neighbor, who had
boastfullY claimed that he was excelling
him this season in tomatoes. He had
Is, 600 hills, from which he had sold 5000
worth, while Mr.. Straughn had sold $500
or 5000 worth from 5000 hills.
He claimed that tomatoes for the Phila-
delphla market ought to be nearly ripe
when picked, and that too many farm
ers pick the fruit green, so that it is
not near so marketable. Mr.. Straughn
said one farmer picked all his tomatoes
green and piled them up in the field to
ripen. Unfortunately, the fruit rotted be-
fore it ripened, and in consequence he lost
all of it. He claimed that tomatoes will
ripen much quicker on the vines than off,
entirely exploding the oldtime theory 50
long in use, of picking tomatoes and plac-
ing them in the sun to ripen.
Mr.. Straughn holds quite radical opin-
ions about the selection of seed. 1t is a
long time principle that seed should al
ways be selected from the best Of its kind
to secure the best results in growth. He
entirely exploded this theory, by saying
that he always saved the seed from the
''cull' watermelons, from the late toma-
toes, the small potatoes and so on.
He was asked if pumpkins were ever
planted in with watermelons to tougher
the latter for shipment. He said they
would not mix, though citron would
mix with the watermelon.
Some Of his audience seemed tritie
skeptical on this point, but Mr.. straughn
was quite positive in his convictions
Surveyor Garter is running new street
midway between and parallel with Centre
and Hopkins street, the morning.
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