The Penn's Grove record., 1911-08-04
TOMATOES ON AN AEROPLANE
Growers Getting Big Profits.

The competition between Baltimore
Gamers foi early tomatoes made OH ex
citing market for tomatoes last Saturday
and Monday and caused the farmers tx
get unpIecedent prices for tomatoes tt
put in cans. From the starting price OF
% ceuts a basket the price went up tc
333 cents Oh Saturday and to AZ cents Oh
Monday.
The Gamers Association in Baltimore
had set the price to open for Jersey toma-
toes at 20 cents. The usual buyers did
not begin to buy for a few days after the
city market price went down. They
wished the tomatoes to get well ripened
and the farmers anxious to sell.
But the Gamers are clear OF canned
goods. The crop will be exceedingly
high in the South because OF the drought.
Some Gamers who never bought Jersey
tomatoes are anxious for them.
John Boyle Company, of Baltimore,
had harges at PENIS Grove on Monday
of last week and began buying, When
Denny Bros. began buying for Numsen
| Company on Thursday most Of the
farmers continued to sell to Boyle, who
had opened the market at 25 cents a
basket when no one else was buying.
| Numsen III Baltimore were informed that
they would have to bid higher to get to-
matoes. The fun for the farmers began
| OH Saturday by Denny Bros. advancing
the price to 333 cents. Boyle met the
| price and got most OF the tomatoes. Both
| firms sent a boat load away on Saturday.
Denny Bros. boat carries 1000 baskets
and Boyles barges 5000.
On Monday runners for both firms
were after the farmers in full force. The
market opened where it stopped on Sat-
| urday. Many farmers have telephones
| and they were o o informed there was a
fight OH. They wished to be in the
midst OF the affray and began driving to
Barber's wharf soon as possible with a
hundred or more baskets of tomatoes Oh
a wagon. Several wagon loads came
down from Pedricktown. The price
went up to 4l8 cents a basket. At six
o'clock there were thirty wagons waiting
to be unloaded and some did not get
away from the wharf until s o'clock at
night. 1t was the biggest day for toma-
to growers ever in Penn's Grove for
canhouse tomatoes. Boyle got over 5000
baskets, Denny Bros got a full boat load
of 1000 for Numsen.
The members OF the Baltimore Can
neIs Association were informed what
was going on in PENIS Grove. A meet
inc was called and the standard price set
% cents a basket, at which price some
report they can make some profit. AT
30 cents there would be little. Twenty
FIVE cents a basket is equal to about Sl4 a
ton. Sixteen cents is about So a ton, the
usual contract price for growing toma-
toes.
There has been no fight on since Mon
day. Both firms have been paying 70
cents a basket. and getting about the same
proportion OF tomatoes.
On Tuesday the fight began at Pedrick-
own. On Monday Roberts Packing Com
pany, of Baltimore brought a barge, tug
and baskets to Pedricktown after toma-
toes. In order to get a load they bid up
to 2S cents on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The others met the price when they had
to DO so. A few were bought for 80
cents. Farmers, where not too long a
haul, carted to Pedricktown for the extra
price,.
Roberts got their scows loaded on
Wednesday. II. S. Justice & Co. and
Capt. w. P. Wright also got a boat load.
On Thursday there was some bidding at
Pedricktown. Capt. Wright paid 26 and
27c for some. The 25c price set by the
Gamers combine at Baltimore has been
generally followed since then.
Good marketable tomatoes are worth
from so to 70 cents a basket in Whining
ton and in Philadelphia.
1t is the general sentiment among the
farmers that they have been receiving
unnecessarily low prices for tomatoes
the past several years and that they
would not have been about 20 cents for a
week and about II or Is cents a basket
after that ii Boyle Company had not come
to Penn's Grove to buy tomatoes.
The prospect is that the price OF late
tomatoes will be worth as much as early
ones. Many patches have not many to-
matoes on the vine yet, but all blooms in
August have time to grow into tomatoes
and be put into cans with favor weather.
The demand for early tomatoes started
under glass is increasing each wear for
canning purposes. The Campbell Com
pany in Camden contracted this year
with a Gloucester county farmer to grow
them for 80 gents a basket for the whole
crop, Because Of the labor aid expense.
farmers have from February l to July ]
to grow tomatoes, they should not receive
less thar so cents a crate for marketable
tomatoes nor less than 20 cents a basket
for the last OF the crop for canning pur-
poses, to have a go4d profit.
Many farmers have had a very profit
able year from tomatoes, ranging all the
from $3.50 to $3.50 an acre.