Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-09-23
Beautify the Home.
II you would keep your boys at home
Go beautify the farm,
Repaint the barn, trim up the trees,
And give the place charm.
Give them pride In where they i've;
Make home place Of rest,
Where peace and plenty doth abide,
And they will love Il best.
Packing and Selling Fruit.

Il oSAAu8 ouo oShhAS tAoAss
Proper marketing is now one of tht
most important problems, the solution
of which will help the horticulturist t(
greater pleasure and profit from his in
dustry. More and more are We coming
to realize the importance of doing things
in the best manner possible. Time was
when apples were dumped promiscuous'
ly into barrel and sent off to market,
but such proceeding is NO longer toler
ated with apples any more than with
other kinds of fruits and berries.
The progressive fruit dealer nowadays
insists upon having everything reach his
hands in perfect shape. All fruit must
be graded carefully, and nothing imper.
feet in the slightest degree dares to be in
the package. Big, nice looking speci'
mems on top and inferior quality below,
at once advertises the producer in man.
ner contrary to his wishes and best in
terests, as he will find out II he desires
to make further sales to the dealer he
has once victimized.
The fruit grower often complains be-
cause the prices he gets for his products
are not up to the highest market quota
tions. Shippers often blame the COM
mission merchant, calling him dishonest
and all sorts Of bad names, when the
fault really lies with the shipper him.
self. The reliable commission merchant
sends out quotations, but, Der,
the prices are for tirst-cass products,
packed properly.
Too much stress cannot be placed upon
the importance of neatness. Consumers
are becoming more and more particular
about what they buy; an article must
look well or they will not buy. The re-
lation of appearance to taste Is pretty
closely associated after all. Hence,
neatnsss on the part of the grower and
packer cannot be considered solely in
the aesthetic sense of the term, but as a
matter of cold dollars aud cents. No
matter how much care you have taken in
packing your fruits, unless you have
used clean and neat packages, you are
the one who has to stand the bill
for them; but when you use attract
i've packages, giving full pack of care
fully graded fruit, the consumer pays
the bill in the higher price asked, and
yon have resped the good results.
BE HONEST IN THE PACK.
Always use good, clean packages, aud
don't put culls or fruits of poor quality
10 the bottom, but fill the packages
from bottom to top with the same quail
ity. For inferior quality stuff, be rea-
sonable and do not expect first-class
prices. Never use short-weight pack
ages, but give good measure in every in
stance. Don't pack decayed fruit, and
never mark package of berries as first
grade when they are covered with sand
and grit, no matter how large they may
be. Finally, never ship to strange
commission merchant without first learn
ing something about his methods and
responsibility from authentic sources.
Most of them are fair and square, but
there are few of the other kind, and 1t
is always worth while going to consider
able expense to deal with merchant
who is not only reliable, but also appre-
ciative of good quality and dependable
products.