Oh No! Say it ain't so! The Heirloom Orchardist was sometimes a lying cheating bum?!
Yup, 'fraid so...That humble orchardist, the one we think of going out to his orchard day after day to grind an honest living from his land, was on occasion a stinkin' cheat. Actually, based on what we see in the farm journals published throughout the 19th century (right on into the 20th century) it happened more frequently than "on occasion." It was a major problem.
This cheating had to do with packing the fruit. Here's a piece from the Farm Journal, published in December of 1903:
"All over the country about these days the farmers are packing apples for the market. It takes no small amount of grace in the heart to do that work faithfully and well. But it pays, and pays big, to be honest about packing apples. A row of splendid apples at the bottom of the barrel and then a bushel or two of small, gnarly ones, is just the best way in the world to make men have doubts about the future welfare of the human race. As the world grows better it packs its apples all the way through the barrel as nearly alike as possible."
It seems that our cheating orchardist became so notorious, that buyers learned to look out for him. An account in the June 10 1908 Market Growers Journal provides an apple buyer's experience:
"I was once buying Apples for home use. The dealer had a number of barrels. "These," said he, pointing to a barrel of Baldwins, "are $2.50 a barrel." "These," pointing to another barrel, "are $3.50 a barrel." Both looked alike on top. But on the head of the ones priced $3.50 was a stencil, "Grown, packed and shipped by: (Orchardist name here), Lockport, N. Y." On the head of the other barrel was a lead pencil scrawl, "Baldwins," and in the middle of the barrel was a motley collection of cullings perfectly worthless. I bought the other barrel, and the Apples all through it were just like those on top, and the dealer said: "That man's Apples always top the market." And it was proper that they should, for they were honestly packed and the grower was proud of his product, for not a scabby Apple was in the barrel. The other packer did not want any one to know who packed or grew the miserable cheat, and his dishonest packing knocked off $1.00 a barrel and should have knocked off more."
Apparently, some clever growers took advantage of the pervasive skepticism. They packed their fruit well, established a reputation for honesty, and charged a premium for it. Now, that's the way to do it. That's my kind of entrepreneurial orchardist!
