Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1916-08-17
STATE FRUIT GROWERS
CAN MAKE MONEY.
Storrs Speakers Say They Have Moth
ing to Fear From Western Competi-
ton.

ton.
That Connecticut growers may sue
cessfully compete with producers of
fruit anywhere, if they will apply
themselves diligently to the problems
of producing only high-grade fruit by
pruning and spraying efficiently, was
emphasized by many speakers at
Storrs, Saturday, when the field meet
ing of the Connecticut Pathological
society ended its two-day session. The
possibilities of Connecticut fruit Gull
J ture seem as yet unTealized by most
farmers, to whom fruit is but a side
line, requiring but little care. When
the fruit producer of the state do ap-
ply themselves to the problem and
grade their product carefully, wrap
ping the better grades attractively, and
marketing their inferior grades as
jellies or jams, they will be well re-
i paid. was the consensus.
Saturday morning Wilfred Wheeler
| of Boston, secretary of the Massachu-
| sets board of agriculture, speaking
on The Growing of Small Fruits,
urged the advantages Of coopera-
! ton. He told how one group Of
| growers had been able jointly to buy
! 10000 crates at a reduction of cents
| a crate, and to cut corners in max
| ing other purchases, and that this
| economy made the difference be-
| tween success and failure in a year
/
| tory. This year, for example. he
! said the market for strawberries had
| been very unsatisfactory, for. the late
| season delayed the southern berries,
| and the spell of warm weather fol-
| lowing fastened the ripening of the
northern berries, so that the season
was very short, fruit from the south
from New Jersey, Long Island, and
New England crowding the market
at practically the same time instead
| Of in succession.
The speaker told how German
growers in such circumstances do
not market their product at a sacri-
fee, but can it. or make jelly or
| jam, and thus receive a fair equiva-
| lent. They make he said, a three
| fOur-five combination, producing a
sort of jam or marmalade of cher
ries, strawberries and raisins for the
first, later also utilizing currants and
then gooseberries.
It is also necessary for Connect
cut growers to more carefully select
their varities according to the mar
l1et for which they are intended, he
said While Florida, stra vberry
growers have grown a variety OF
strawgerry which they ship into Bos-
ton without ice, picked when mature
which arrives with every berry per
feet, he had seen four carloads Of
Connecticut berries reach Boston in
iced cars, which were only fit to be
dumped, as the juice was simply
running out of the cars, simply be-
cause too soft-bodied variety had
bee grown.
H. ]. Ramsay of the transportation
department of the bureau of plant
industry of the department of agri-
culture at Washington, spoke on
Transporting and Marketing Fruit
touching upon this same matter. He
said that, since the Connecticut
grower must usually spend some days
or weeks in picking his fruit intend
ed for cold storage, and in that time
the product loses much of its fine
flavor and several weeks of its stor-
age life. he recommended the con-
struCtiOn of storage sheds in the
:, orchard, using ice in a compartment
fnsulted with cork or sawdust, with
an opening at the top and bottom tC
permit the cold air to circulate
through the shed, until ready to put
the fruit permanently into cold stor-
age.
pictures demonstrating the success Oh
cooperation among the fruit grow
ers of Washington and Oregon, W
A Cook of Windsor discussed Dis
posaI of the Surplus Crop and Pro
fessor w. W. ChensWcUh of Amherst
Mass Handling and Marketing the
Poorer Grades of Fruit The lat
: | ter speaker fairly made the mouths
l of those in the audience water witt
, his epconium of apple butter, into
which he said all the surplus apples
: ! Of inferior grades should be made
: Although last year tons and tons Of
peaches rotted on the ground, ye
, he said, the price of canned peache!
was higher than ever. There was
large opportunity open to growers
he maintined in canning fruit in at
tractive packages, with a label TIA
| they were home made which h,
declared would appeal to the con
sumer But they should be satisfied
5 with a reasonable profit, he said, 80
I not many people can afford to pa,
=, 60 cents to rs cents for a quart o
5 nine canned peaches