The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1914-06-19
RAISE SMALL FRUITS
IMPORTANT POINT is TO FIND A
READY MARKET.
one Who Caters to General Trade 10
Often Compelled to Allow Com
mission Men to Dictate Prices
Of His Products

One frequent cause OF failure among
smail-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,
ard at a time when the market Is full
of common fruit
The grower should have II 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
dwarf tree. while the small fruit grow
er might find 1t profitable.
There are numerous varieties or
fruit which possess excellence in a
marked degree, when marketed as
soon as they are gathered, but which
are of little practical use TO the COM
mercial grower on account of being
toe 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 family trade,
has more definite problem, for his
fruit Is desired by his customers ac-
cordlng 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 lthe 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 a 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
CT is compelled to allow the commits
sion trade to dictate the prices of his
fruits. and many times finds that q
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 market 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 frui
OF pronounced excellence is rapidly in
easing. owing to the fact that the
commercial growers are putting theil
fruit up for market in inferior condi
ton
The competition is close and is driv
ing many to put their fruit up a!
cheaply as possible without sortin!
out the inferior.
This has tendency to lower tn
price of the entire product and Il
driving the trade right into the hand
Of the special grower who is in
position to supply a good article t
his trade.
There never was time when goo
peaches. pears, apricots, plums, grape
and berry fruits would not comman
a premium over the grades that wer
for sale in the common markets an
all these facts go to prove that SUE
cess in fruit growing is as much d.
pendent upon finding the best market
as it is upon growing the best fruit!