The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-12-12

out. Buyers in all our large markets are
onto their jobs, and therefore 1t is only
financial suicide to false pack fruits and
vegetables.
Sometimes when fruit is scarce, inferior
stock may be sold at paying prices, but
it should be always packed in separate
carriers from the good stock and sold on
its own merit. Inferior stock packed with
the good always pulls the good stock
down on a level with the poorer grades,
while the good grades never bring up the
price of the inferior A careful study OF
this matter will save the grower much
worry loss of time and money Mention
is made here of a few instances that came
under the observation of the writer to
show the force of this argument: In the
fall of 1905 near the city in which the
writer lives, the market was crowded
for weeks with poor grades of apples.
Apples, windfalls, never washed, but
thrown in with others and all hauled to-
gether to market in dirty grain bags,
wash tubs. water buckets or some old
dirty goods boxes that chickens had been
living in, resulted in apples selling at
from 40 to so cents per bushel. The writer
had nice lot of Jonathans and Winesap
apples which were carefully sorted and
packed in nice new baskets that would
hold one-third of a busheI These baskets
were sold for so cents apiece Just as fast
as they could be hauled to market They
caught the eye of the customer at once,
and there are always customers who are
willing to pay for first-class, attractive
and appetizing fruit
Another case: In the summer Of 1906
the writer happened to be in one of the
great northern cities which is a great
market for early apples. In passing a
grocery store / happened to notice the
groceryman sorting some early Red June
apples. on stopping to talk with him and
to examine the fruit, he informed me
that the farmer who shipped the apples
would have to pay him dearly for his
time in sorting them. The apples had
been gathered from the tree, and every
thing, big, little. ill-shaped and wormy,
packed together To my surprise on look
, ing at the trademark in the package 7
saw that these apples had been shipped
/ from the Ozarks the land of the Big Red
apple. These apples were sorted out and
made into three grades. The best lot of
first class apples sold for 20 cents per
dozen; the second class lots for 10 cents
and the third class lot for cents per
dozen. The grower received very little
for his small, knotty. wormy culls, which
should have been sorted out and fed to
hogs. The writer makes three grades of
apples in sorting-the lowest or poorest
grade Is fed to the hogs, the next grade,
after being washed and all rot cut out
is made into cider and vinegar and the
better grade, or all first class stock, il
either put on the market or used by the
family. great deal of this infeior stock
can and is in many sections, used for
/ drying.
Summary.
Commercial fruit growers sometimes
say to me: You talk and write as though
you were dealing with new beginners all
the time" The only apology I have to
offer for writing in this plain. practical
way is that the conditions of the or
chards all over our country are such
that only this plain. practical teaching
is needed at this time. We are yet in
our infancy in this country, so far as
fruit growing is concerned. Later on
when a larger per cent of our growers
come to know more of soils. fertilizers,
plant foods, drainage and the general
management of fruit trees, I may write
a book of theory. instead of one of prac-
teal facts. Should the reader desire fine
fruit that will pay profit on the produce
ton. I would advise that he follow out
in detail the practical instructions out
lined in this article.