The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-07-16
Selling Home-Made Preserves
High Quality FarmCann Fruit Can Be Sold With Profit to
the Farm
N SPITE Of the excellence Of our
J modern canneries, there is a good


town housewives, who prefer home
product, can not or will not take the
trouble to put up fruit themselves.
Some are busy with work outside the
home; others have so many home duties
that they can not undertake this extra
work; and still others have not the
health or strength to do it.
On the other hand many a farm
housewife sees quantities of fruit 60
ing to waste on the home farm every
year, besides what is marketed. She
frequently puts up much more than she
really needs herself, and yet finds that
much goes to waste. Yet if she but
realized it neat profit might be made
on good fruit which for one reason or
another is not marketed fresh, by pre-
serving and selling it to these town
housewives who prefer canned fruit
and jelies but do not make them for
themselves. Frequently much of the
work of preparing the fruit for can
ming could be done by children of the
family, during the vacation time, and
by careful management of the work
large amount of fruit could be put up
with littlo trouble. This would be espe-
cially true if a good type of modern
home canning outfit be secured.
Must Learn to Market.
Undoubtedly one of the reasons why
more farm wives do not put up fruit
and Jellies for sale is that they do not
know how to market them. Perhaps
they have already tried it once and
have not been able to dispose of their
products. Yet if their products are
high class and attractive in appear
anee and the cost of getting them to
customers is not excessive there should
be no difficulty in disposing of them at
a good profit. 1t has been done and the
field is by no means over-crowded. The
first year, when trade is being cstab-
hshed, will be the most difficult. Af-
ter that such products will, if they are
high class and have proved satisfac-
tory to purchasers, almost sell them
selves.
One way to start such a business on
small scale is to secure orders, be
fore the fruit season commences, from
several housewives in town for fam
lily supply of a specified number of Jars
and glasses of the different kinds of
fruit which you are planning to pre-
serve. If you are not well known locally
it will be advisable, if not necessary
to show samples of your work to the
persons whom You are endeavoring to
secure as customers and perhaps to give
them an opportunity of tas ing the
various kinds. Orders may be secured
by telephoning or calling upon persons
in nearby towns whom you think would
be likely to buy such products as you
have to offer, by sending out postal
cards, through an advertisement in a
local paper, through an announcement
made at women's clubs and other meet
ings, through demonstration " which
persons arc invited to visit at some
convenient place in town. and in vari-
GUS other ways Let people know that
you have the fruit and the equipment
and will relieve them of canning trou-
bles by putting up whatever they wish
--jellies, jams or preserves.
Locate City Housewives.
II you can not get enough customers
in nearby towns, where you can deliver
tho goods yourself, it will be advisable,
If you wish to sell directly to the con
sumer, to take the time and trouble to
locate in cities several housewives who
would buy from dozen to three dozen
jars every fall, and ship them their
supplies by express.
Much profitable trade is built on ac-
quaintance. There are people you know,
at home or elsewhere, who can put you
in touch with city friends who wo "a
be likely customers. You may have to
write several dozen letters to find your
customers, but once located there will
be little detail.
If your product is as good as it
ought to be there will be tendency
for the trade to grow through one per
son 3 telling Others about it.
When you write, business.like way
to offer your surplus is to take orders
in advance Exnlai-, tho sitratinn-