Rocky Ford enterprise., 1914-09-18
RAISE SMALL FRUITS
IMPORTANT POINT is TO FIND A
READY MARKET.
One Who Caters to General Trade Is
Often Compelled to Allow Com
mission Men to Dictate Prices
Of His Products.

One frequent cause of failure among
small-fruit growers is the fact that
they grow fruits which come into com
petition with that which is grown by
the large commercial fruit growers,
of common fruit.
The grower should have 1t firmly
settled in his mind whether he is to
cater to the family trade or place his
fruits upon the general or common
markets of the large villages or cities.
The commercial fruit grower would
grow poor trying to grow fruit on a
dwarf tree, while the small fruit grow
tr might find it profitable.
There are numerous varieties of
fruit which possess excellence lin a
marked degree, when marketed az
soon as they are gathered, but which
are of little practical use to the com.
mercial grower on account of being
too delicate to stand up during ship.
ment. 1t is in selecting these timely
favored varieties and marketing them
in nice condition that the small fruit
grower will often find large profits.
The man with the small farm, who
is growing fruit for a family trade,
has more definite problem, for his
fruit is desired by his customers ac-
cording to its intrinsic value and the
better the quality, the more money
they are willing to pay for his fruit.
The grower for the general market
many times is compelled to put his ex-
cellent fruit in competition with the
poorer quality of fruit that is grown
and packed by other growers. the
whole produce being sold on the same
basis and the same prices realized by
all shippers.
In the general markets. the growers
are dependent upon the demands OF
the trade at the time their fruit Is
ready to be shipped.
The small fruit farm owner who has
worked up nice private family or
hotel trade for his fruits is independ.
ent of the general or common market,
as he knows Just what his customers
want and he is enabled to meet their
demands
On the other hand, the larger grow.
er is compelled to allow the commits.
sion trade to dictate the prices of his
fruits. and many times finds that a
car of his fruit has barely paid the ex.
pense of marketing. 1t matters little
which line Of fruit growing we under.
take. the years will not all be favor.
able for the business.
The special masket is the best one
to cater to. for there are few growers
who are looking after the needs OF
this market, and the demand for fruit
of pronounced excellence is rapidly in
creasing, owing to the fact that the
commercial growers are putting their
fruit up for market in inferior condi
ton.
The competition is close and Is driv-
ing many to put their fruit up as
cheaply as possible without sorting
out the inferior.
This has a tendency to lower the
price of the entire product and is
driving the trade right into the hands
of the special grower who is in a
position to supply a good article TO
his trade.
There never was a time when good |
peaches, pears. apricots. plums, grapes |
and berry fruits would not command |
premium over the grades that were |
for sale in the common markets and |
all these facts go to prove that sue |
cess in fruit growing is as much de-
pendent upon finding the best markets |
as It is upon growing the best fruits. |