Evening star., 1929-09-01
BY LEE LAMAR ROBINSON.

Starting as a by-product Of the motor
age, with the house by the side OF the
road as a picturesque background, and,
in its earlier days with either the elders
of the children of a household only
giving attention to 1t as an incident to
other activities Of the day, the roadside
market as distinguished from the road
side refreshment stand has now come
into it's own to a surprising extent, COM
mercially; it has challenged and gotten
the attention, officially, of Federal and
State Departments Of Agriculture.
Washington motorists, touring Vir-
ginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West
Virginia. have come to know and ac-
cept this wayside establishment as one
of the points Of interest noted during
their journeys; replicss. as they are, OF
tens Of thousands Of like establishments
scattered over the country from the
Boston Post road to the ribbon-like
arteries of California.
Subject Of Lecture.
In addition to the adoption by him
OF official badges, approved by State
Agricultural Departments, certifying
that the market man displaying the
same Is operating under rules and regu-
lations which insure fair dealing, sale
OF locally grown products, freshly
gathered; cleanliness, and like contribu-
tions to approved business methods Of
the present day, he is giving evidence
Of the fact his novel venture is under
taken seriously, with a proper appreci-
alton Of the responsibilities of the same,
if he hopes to survive throughout the
years.
Maryland roadside markets were
made the subject of an illustrated lee
ture as early as three or four years ago
by DR.. S. B. DeVault of the University
of Maryland following a trip of inspec-
tion of these establishments on most Of
the main Travelled highways Of his State.
He found most Of the WaySide markets
doing a business Of less than $1,000 a
year, while that of others ran up to as
high as $4,000 and $4,000. In his lee
ture DR.. DeVault stressed the need for
strategic location of the markets, at
tractivenesS of surroundings, careful
advertising, dependability and like requi-
sites on the part of the highway mer-
chantman. In Connecticut seasonal
sales varied from but trif1ing amounts
to one establishment doing a $4,000
business.
Organization of roadside marketers in
different States is proceeding rapidly,
always under the supervision and ad-
vice Of State marketing agencies. to
the end permanency and business
standing be attained. In Massachu-
sets, for example, voluntary systems Of
inspection, at the hands of State off,
GERS, have been adopted in some coun-
ties; Rhode Island pomologiSts have
recommended like steps for that State;
the Connecticut Department Of Agri-
culture early gave careful attention TO
the movement through inspections Of
established institutions; Pennsylvania is
CiyiY1y QY~firIIiar attention IN the in
dustry; Michigan and New Jersey are
doing likewise and Ohio is pioneer
along this line.
On through the Middle West the
story Is the same, whether it be North
or South, as well as out where the West
really begins. as for example, Colorado
and in the States of the Far West, up
and down the Pacific Coast. In word,
no matter where one motors these days,
he finds the roadster marketer, the pur-
veyor of vegetables, apples, honey,
berries and melons, all temptingly dis
played. One evolvement of the road
side selling Of fruits and vegetables is
found in the growing tendency on the
part of motorists to avail themselves of
the novelty and pleasure of picking
their own," as far as peaches, grapes
and apples are concerned.
Orchards Springing Up.
Due to this, orchards are springing up
on all hands along the roadsides and
being given scientific treatment and
care, in contrast to the practice of days
gone by to permit too many Of these
orchards to be destroyed through lack
of proper care and attention. Owners
of orchards are offering motorists the
privilege of selecting and picking their
own fruit, to the extent they may care
to do so, in connection with retail sales,
thus often, as they point out, affording
the children of visiting motorists lessons
in the growing and care of fruits.
Observers in a position to know point