A wondrous floor is the garden's cathedral of emerald green in the summer, sprinkled with flowers, of ermine whiteness in the winter, sparkling with the diamonds of frost. Its choir is the winds, the singing birds and the hum of insects. Its builder and maker is God. Man goeth to his garden in the springtime, and, behold, all is mystery. There is the mystery of life about him, in the flowing sap in the trees, the springing of the green grass, the awakening of the insect world, the hatching of the worm from the egg, the changing of the worm into the butterfly.
The seed the gardener holds in his hand is a mystery. He knows what it will produce, but why one phlox seed will produce a red blossom and another a white is to him a miracle. He wonders at the prodigality of nature. In her economy, what is one or ten thousand seeds! She scatters them with lavish hand from ragweed, thistle or oak. If man could make but the single seed of the ragweed, he could make a world. The distance between a pansy and a planet is no greater than between man and a pansy. The gardener sees the same infinite care bestowed upon the lowest as upon the highest form of life, and he wonders at it. He looks into the face of a flower, scans the butterfly and notes the toadstool and sees that each is wonderful.
From the time he enters his garden in the springtime until he leaves it in the autumn, he will find a place and a time to worship in his cathedral. He enters it with the seed in his hand in the spring, and as he rakes away the ripened plants in the autumn he finds something still of the mystery of life. A puff-ball is before him, and he muses on its forming. The little puff-ball stands at one end of the scale of life and he, man, at the other, "close to the realm where angels have their birth, just on the boundary of the spirit land." From the things visible in our garden we learn of the things invisible, and strong the faith of him who kneeling in adoration of the growing plant looks from nature to nature's God and finds the peace which passeth understanding.
Bringing the Producer and Consumer Together.
R. S. MACKINTOSH, HORTICULTURAL SPECIALIST, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION DIVISION, UNIVERSITY FARM, ST. PAUL.
The introduction of Mr. Producer to Mr. Consumer directly, and not by proxy, is the chief desire of the present time. The fact remains, however, that in the vast majority of cases Messrs. Proxy & Co. is brought in and breaks up the direct personal contact. The development of complex marketing means specialization and in a large degree sets it apart from production. When specialization becomes dominant, then standardization becomes necessary. Each producer is unable to keep in touch with all such movements and consequently finds it hard to keep abreast of the times. In this age of rapid transit, specialization, scientific discoveries, and the improvements resulting therefrom, seem somewhat out of place when compared with our present marketing systems. This does not mean that our marketing is entirely out of joint, but it does mean that there is something the matter or so many would not be discussing it. The consumer hears what the producer received, the producer hears what the consumer paid, and then somebody gets to thinking and talking. Discussions lead to investigations, and investigations lead to conferences. Just lately a large conference was held in Chicago, and certain plans were formulated to attempt to unravel some of the evils that exist in marketing. So much has been said that the U. S. Department of Agriculture has begun certain investigations, and we hope that the workers will find ways to solve some of the troubles in a logical and, we hope, sane way.
A year ago your committee on marketing reported that there were certain things needed, and an ideal system was suggested to correct these faults. One of the basic factors emphasized was standardization. Another committee reported on changes needed in the statutes regarding the weight of a bushel of apples. Congress has enacted a law which specifies the size of a barrel for apples. New York, Massachusetts and other states have enacted grading laws. Some states require that the fruit be free of certain insect and disease injuries. Several states have laws regulating commission men. Most states have laws which do not allow the sale of food products that are decayed. These are all steps toward the standardization that is so necessary. In other words, the several laws have been passed to correct some of the troubles which have come up when so many hands handle the products. These laws were not needed in olden times when the consumer went directly to the producer's door and there bargained for his wares.
Minnesota is a state noted for co-operative enterprises. There are over two thousand such organizations doing more than $60,000,000.00 worth of business yearly. We know full well the value of the co-operative creameries and how butter has been brought up to a high standard. As citizens, we rejoice; as horticulturists, and citizens as well, we want our products to stand high in the estimation of others. I was much pained this summer while discussing the marketing of apples with several commission men to hear them say that they did not like to take local shipments. The reason was that the goods were usually below grade, and the returns did not always please the growers. It is evident that we must improve our methods in ways which will remove this stigma. Many of the commission men try to induce good grading and packing. They like to handle "top notch" goods, for it is cheaper to handle goods that move quickly than those that are a drag and require too much handling. The Agricultural Extension Division of the College of Agriculture is organized to give help, where help is needed, along a large number of agricultural lines.