Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-07-02
WHEN WILL HE?
CFrom the Landmerkh

when will the Vermont farmer le1
to specialize on his product" asks n,
Bristol Herald in commenting editorial
ly on current prices of maple sugar ant
syrup The question Is of ante-diluyiat
age yet pertinent to the day and season.
To-day the Vermont farmer is getting
not a mill above 40 cents Of the dollar
that the down country consumer pays
for his maple products, and the one man
| to blame for this unfair division OF fl |
nancal receipts is the Vermont farmer
himself. Only short distance-or to
speak in another way-only a days
freight car run from Vermonts further
est point are ten millions of people who
if they eat maple sugar or syrup at all
must buy it. The fBrstol farmer, ac-
cording to the Herald. is to-day getting
eight cents a pound for his sugar. The
| Boston and New York city consumers
are paying % cents a pound for the,
, same. The cost of transportation FROM
| Bristol an Addison county town nea'-
the Chittenden county line would not
be- at the highest. q half a cent pound
on any considerable shipment and ct
more than $50 per cent. is the differ-
ence between the Vermont producer a nd
the Manhattan consumer. Nor is his
all for in Massachusetts at least the
adulteration of maple products to tho
extent of 50 per cent. is legal without
any notification thereof. OF course this
is permissible only in intrastate and not
interstate traffic. So called maple syrup
that does not contain as high as five
per cent Of the genuine article is, sold
and served everywhere, in Vermont az
. well elsewhere, and this practice is
detrimental to the financial and &c onom-
; lc welfare of the Vermont farmer
But this matter of maple sugar. prod
) ucts is no worse in the matter of It's
selling than it is with all other PRODUCTS
of the Vermont farm that find market
outside the State. There is pro- Mise to-
day of huge crops of apples tho coming
fall, and in this section OF the State
the farmer will get around s125 a barrel
, for his best winter fruit. The Sc apples
= will he sent to Boston and 9th sr Massa-
, chusetts cities and De sold to the con-
sumner at prices around 81 Ter barrel.
l Out of the Vermont farmers receipt OF
SIPS per barrel must come So cents for
2 the new empty barrel, at least % cents
for the labor of picking and 10 cents for
= heading and carting to the station, leav-
= for the labor and care of his trees.
l The one cause OF this diff erence In the
price for which the Vermont farmer
sells and the consumer pays Is simply
the lack of organization on the part Of
the Vermont farmer Iso lated and un.
organized as he is he is at he mercy of the
middleman, and no one Is to blame for
this condition but himself Let the ADJ
Olson county maker of maple sugar and
the white river valley apple grower
- each get on their Job, as respects the
business end of farming, and then each
;, will get more of the consumers dollar
. and that too without liking 1t any hard
. er for the consumer, The Landmark
@ takes it for granted that the Bristol
Herald knows the a. yency that should
l. secure for the Addison county producer
y more than eight of tie % cents the Bos.
y ton consumer pays for a pound of his
s maple sugar.