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WISCONSIN  HORTICULTUR1 
Growers Need New Models 
                             By H. B. Tukey 
THE other day it was my privi- 
lege to be seated next to a 
manufacturer of a nationally ad- 
vertised product. I asked him 
what he would do if someone in- 
troduced a better and a lower 
priced article than he was pro- 
ducing. Would he under sell 
him? Would be put on an adver- 
tising campaign ? Just what 
would he do? He replied, "I'd 
work first to produce something 
better than he was producing!" 
  The comparison may not be 
good, because surely the manu- 
facturer is frequently dealing 
with a monopoly, whereas th6 
grower of apples is dealing with 
what looks to many people like 
more apples than the c'nsuming 
public cares about. Still there is 
just enough truth in the compari- 
son to merit a little sober thought. 
   Consumers Discriminating 
   In the first place, as one re- 
views horticultural development 
in America over a period of 150 
years he cannot help but be im- 
pressed by the fact that the con- 
suming public is in the long run 
sharply discriminating. It may 
use Ben Davis for a while, but 
not when it can get something 
better. It wants an even better 
product, and it wants it at a low- 
er price if it can get it-"a bet- 
ter article at a lower price." 
         New Models 
  And that is where half the 
trouble starts, because the fruit 
industry does not find it so easy 
to shift overnight to meet the 
new competition. An automobile 
manufacturer can put out a new 
model in a short while, but a 
fruit tree takes years to come 
into bearing, to say nothing of 
the countless other long-time 
factors involved in production. 
Accordingly, an old fruit section 
or an established line of indus- 
try goes "out of production" for 
a while when a better section, a 
better variety, or a better prod- 
uct comes into the market. The 
old section may come back again 
with young trees, with a new 
variety, or with an improved 
pack-a new model, if you please, 
to suit the new demand. Or, the 
old section may find new markets 
for its old product which have 
been lost to the new competition. 
We have all seen it. It is hap- 
pening today just as it has been 
happening in the past. 
  Henry Ford might have been 
satisfied with the old Model T 
     (Continued on page 153) 
February, 1940 
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