The silver messenger., 1907-03-12
THE TRUCK PATCH.
cuIIed from the Daily Experiences of
Trucker Who Works

Cleaning up truck patches and haul
ing manure are in order, and the work
should be pushed whenever the wealth
er viii permit Besides improving the
looks of the premises, cleaning up and
burning rubbish win destroy host OF
predatory insects that are only walt
ing until warm weather to come out
and attack the growing crops A pile
of rails, boards or stakes IL left I'M
disturbed over winter will haroor
enough "punkin bugs" almost to ruin
a patch of melons. cukes or squashes;
to say nothing of other pests.
1t requires quite as much skill sue
cessfully to market crop as 1t does
to grow It. Many men can grow
crop all right, but they fall down vsAen
it comes to marketing 1t to the besf
advantage.
With an adequate home market the
grower has control Of his products
/ from start to finish, and at the close
of each day he knows just what they
sold for. 1t is very different with the
man who must ship his products 70 a
distant market to be sold on commits
sion. His control ceases when the
goods are delivered to the transporta-
ton company; and he is at the mercy
of the commission man. and must wait
several days to know his fate.
The grower can control the grading
and packing, and this has much TO do
with the price whether the goods are
sold In the home market or on con-
signment. In all the cities and larger
towns there are people able and will
ing to pay good prices for fruits and
vegetables if they can get what they,
want This class of people grows
larger every year. To reach them the
goods must be of superior quality and
they must present an attractive ap-
pearance.
Commission merchants say that
their best customers fall over each
other to buy the consignments of GER
tain growers, and will not look at any
thing else so long as there is chance
to get the favorite brand Such goods
are usually sold in advance of arrival.
They are in demand because they are
carefully and honestly packed and
X are guaranteed to be all right clear
. through ANY grower who win put up
his products neatly and honestly can
: in a short time establish reputation
!, that will be worth money every year.
! Frequently the market for sweet po
!, tatoes is at its best just before the
: holidays. It's a good plan to hit thai
i market It may be the potatoes art
not keeping well. II so. get them out
After the holiday trade the marke
= is nearly always dull and prices arr
" down for weeks. Meanwhile, potatoes
= in the bin may be deteriorating ever,
y day. In one district where large guam
= titles of potatoes are raised, black ro
= was prevalent at digging time. Unde
= such conditions the sooner the pota
y toes are marketed after they are drieI
y out, the better it viii be for tn
Z grower
= Before packing, the potatoes shouA
40 be brushed or wiped clean and sprout
% and fibrous roots removed. While dc
NJ ing this il is an easy matter to grad
nu them by putting the large, mediur
size and small ones into separat
~ boxes This win make three grade
e. and they should be packed in separat
10 barrels. Medium size potatoes alway
% command the highest price, and ba
- rels containing them can be marke
fancy" The large ones can be desii
mated as mo. g. and the small one
as common But the differer
!. grades can be distinguished by an
kind of mark, provided that the cor
=, mission man knows what the mari
- mean.
The barrels should be CAREFUL
faced with potatoes of uniform siz
Some growers place all the potato'
in the barrel by hand Others POI
them in after facing. shaking the bs
rel occasionally to settle the potatoe
Whichever method is used, the barre
should be so well filed and rounded I
that considerable pressure is requir'
~ to get the head in place. Unless tn
is done the barrels will not be fl
~ when they reach their destinatic
-. The critical buyers, says Farm JoS
ar nal, pay the fancy prices, and tn
will not look at slack or careless
packed barrel.