JOHN DOE, of Blanktown, New Jersey, was left heir to a farm of fifty odd acres of as worn out land as could well be found in the state. Since the days of the revolution, this farm had kept the Does in bread and corn meal, potatoes and pork, home-spun and print, cowhide boots and shoes, and not much else. There was the contribution to the annual donation to the circuit dominie, and an occasional bite to the weary traveller who passed over the desolate road ; but beyond these necessities of existence there was hardly a penny.

One fine morning, our friend John awoke and found himself possessor and owner of this farm and the many traditions which were part and parcel of the chattels. The possessorship raised no feeling of exaltation in his breast, for he knew from sad experience how hard it was to force from this barren soil sufficient for a bare subsistence. He had, however, mixed some with the world, and though he had dearly loved his old father whom he had the day before laid in his grave, he felt that his parent had not kept up with the times. He strode over the farm, now sinking half-way to his boot tops in the light sand, and anon making a wide detour around a stagnant pool of water, covering perhaps the best soil on the little farm. He paused before a huge pile of marl which represented the last work be and his father had done together. "Is this the sort of fertilizer my land needs ?" he mentally queried. Rapidly his mind went oyer the years he had spent here, of the tales his father and bis grandfather had told of the years of nnrequited labor spent on this same farm. He knew that the marl was used simply because it could be obtained cheaper than anything else; but did it supply what was lacking in this soil ? Evidently not.

He had heard that the component parts of marl were carbonate of lime, silicious sand and clay, and that the quantity of each was variable; the clay portion was certainly welcome, but what if the preponderance were of carbonate of lime or of the sand ? Surely there was already sand and to spare on the place! His knowledge of the subject would not permit him to solve the problem, but he resolved that no more marl should go on the farm until he understood its chemical properties well enough to know whether it was doing his land good or harm.

Right about face! turned our friend, upsetting with one bold plunge all the preconceived ideas of his ancestors and of his neighbors and friends. The west had swallowed up the wheat industry, and his land was too light and poor to grow hay; so, to make a long story short, with a superb physique, full of life and ambition, a cool, steady head well filled with common sense, and with some money he had saved from occasional jobs of ice cutting when nothing was to be done on the farm, he launched into fruit and vegetable raising.

By degrees he learned the value of manures and commercial fertilizers ; how to properly apply them and their different effects on different crops. He mingled with growers of other sections, with his strong sense separating the wheat from the chaff and applying the knowledge thus gained to his own needs.

In time his fame became a matter of county pride. At the state fairs one might show enormous strawberries and magnificent asparagus, but the man from John's county would say: Yes, they are werry fine, but they don't come up to Doe's stuff, now you may bet onto it!"

But Doe's chief success was in his superb method of handling his produce, after having spent time and money growing it. His plantations were laid out with care and with due regard to their convenience to every other branch of work; the sorting and packing sheds were located at the ends of the rows where the crates could be lifted into the wagons without carrying. Every crate and box was scrupulously clean, the boxes were stamped with his name and address, and the crates, painted and and numbered, also bore his address. In some cases, where his fruit went to supply special customers, each box was stamped with the name of the variety it contained, and the inside of the box was lined with fresh strawberry leaves; the crates were made especially for the purpose, so that the boxes could be heaped high.

"All nonsense!" say you ? "Impossible!" say you? "Impracticable!" say you ?

Impossible and impracticable with large quantities, simply because the local demand would not be large enough to warrant the time and trouble. But how much nonsense is there in the difference between 10 cents a quart, the market price for ordinary fruit, and 20 cents to 25 cents for these specially packed berries ? It may be nonsense, but it is also money.

"About this time," said Doe to the writer, "I had the New York fever. My produce was raised in such quantities that the local trade could not handle it, and I must look to a larger market. New York seemed the 'land of promise' in this case, and there I wandered one day. I spent three days going through the markets noting the quality of the produce, manner in which it was packed, the price it brought, etc., and then I went back home".

Ah! here is where our friend placed a solid rock in the foundation he was building; when he went back to his little farm, he had a good general idea of what the New York market required in the way of produce, but not that only, for he realized that the consuming public like their goods done up in attractive shape and are willing to pay well for the attention.

Again he showed his knowledge of business, farmer though he was, for he told me that he ascertained the financial and moral standing of one of the commission men with whom be talked, and being satisfied with it wrote him substantially as follows:

"Dear Sir : - I am engaged in fruit and vegetable raising near this town, and would like to ship my produce to you to be sold. My products are in every way first-class and will be nicely packed. I shall expect the highest market price for such quality of stuff as I send, and am willing to be largely guided by you in the matter of quantity and time of shipment. Let me hear from you and oblige, Yours respectfully, John Doe".

The response to this letter from the cautious commission man was a request for a small consignment of the then seasonable small fruit, red raspberries. They were sent, packed in the same attractive manner in which Doe ever packed his produce, and - well, suffice it to say, for over ten years this dealer handled the products of Doe's farm, always securing the highest market price.

As we have said, Doe's plan of work was on the same general principles recommended in this series of papers-In handling small fruits the pickers were put into the field in charge of a competent person, and each one given a tray holding four quart or pint baskets as the case might be. The pickers were instructed to take from the vines and bushes only the perfect ripe fruit for the baskets, but were expected to pick and throw away any decayed, bird-pecked or nubby fruit they discovered. As the baskets were filled the trays containing them were set in the row and an empty one taken up, these having been placed at convenient distances all along the rows. The filled tray is taken in charge by a man who gives the picker a ticket bearing his or her name, provided the baskets are filled as required ; if not they must be made good before the ticket is given the picker.

The tray is carried to the sorting-house, where the berries are looked over closely before being put into the crates. So far as possible, and always for the first grade of fruit going to New York, only one variety of fruit is placed in a crate. The crates are carefully placed on the platform of a spring-wagon and taken to the shipping point, the horses walking. The day before this consignment is shipped Doe writes or wires his commission man thus: "Will ship 5 o'clock train tomorrow morning, 25 to 35 crates first grade strawberries".

[In this connection we would refer the reader to an article by a New York commission man in February American Garden, page 74. - Ed].

Frequently our friend Doe adds a touch to his packages by wrapping or tacking colored netting over the peach baskets, or placing a few fresh cut leaves among the fruit, etc., etc. He also makes an occasional trip to the city to see for himself what is going on, for he has no idea of falling behind the times.

His fruits and vegetables are always uniform in size ; no need to look over the baskets and find a layer of large fruit at top and bottom and the centre composed of inferior stuff. In bunching radishes or beets he does not hide two or three little ones in the middle of the bunch, nor are his asparagus bunches filled out with the ends of the plant stalks. In brief, his products may be depended upon in all respects. In return for his goods he demands and receives the highest market price ; and further, as we have said, when he puts up extra fine fruit in attractive shape, he is well paid for the care.

Recapitulation

It seems unnecessary to the writer to pursue this subject farther; we have tried to cover the ground thoroughly, showing the comparisons of methods and the results of each. When the whole subject is narrowed down and brought into concise shape, it seems to be completely covered by the one general rule, viz. : To grow proper varieties, harvest them properly, pack them honestly and attractively in clean firm packages, and put them on the market in good shape and in a business-like matter to be sold on their merits.

Despite the growls of the producers, the slights at commission men and the sneers at articles written on the subject, it seems to us at least possible that the blame for poor prices for produce must, a share of it, and the larger share, be laid at the door of the producer himself. We do not ask you to take our word for this, but do ask that you take the trouble of refuting or verifying what has been written by spending a day or two among the markets of any large city and seeing for yourself.

We dislike to charge any American gardener or fruitgrower with ignorance of his business, but it is a palpable fact that too many shippers of produce to the New York markets are wofully ignorant of how fruit should be packed to bring a fair price.

Obviously then, the future of fruit and vegetable growing is largely in the hands of the grower ; a proper conception of what is required by the rapidly-being-educated consuming public, and an intelligent catering to that desire, will improve the present status of the business. The present prevailing carelessness, and in too many cases inexcusable ignorance, will sink the grower deeper into the financial mire. Which plan shall govern ? K.