Reports on Fruit Transportation. 151 



REPORT OF DR. m'KAY. 



Madison Station, Miss., January 21, 1884. 



3Ir. Parker Earle, PresU ]\fississippi Valley Hortieullural Society, Kansas Citi/, Mo. : 



Dear Sir — In looking over the Report on Transportation, made by President 

 Smith, at our New Orleans meeting, I do not find anything that can be said at this 

 time that would be of special interest in transportation, more than is embraced in 

 his report. Both freight and express authorities promptly recognized our commit- 

 tee, and have been very courteous, and I think much disposed to do all they canto 

 benefit and encourage our interests. I think we will this season succeed in getting 

 most of the suggestions offered in that report carried into practice. Our State 

 Horticultural Society instructed me, at the meeting last week, to ask the express 

 companies to give more attention to keeping windows and ventilators in a proper 

 condition ; to keep fruit and vegetables separated in transfer ; to furnish route 

 agents with sufficient additional help to carefully replace all articles, and pack 

 them in tiers with inch strips between each tier, and avoid transfers when possible 



The President — I think we can't spend time better in this connec- 

 tion than to listen to a paper from Mr. Thomas. What is the use ot 

 growing fruit if we can not get it to market. Mr. Thomas is a com- 

 mission man, on Water street, Chicago. He handles more fruit than 

 any other man in the world ; so I regard his opinion as weighty. 



REPORT OF F. A. THOMAS. 



Gentlemen of the Convention : 



Having been called upon for a paper on transportation, I will do the best I 

 can. 



Last year there was a committee of six appointed, three North, three 

 South, with the President of this Convention as chairman of the whole. 

 The members of this committee, being widely separated, have had no 

 interchange of views to my knowledge. I never had time to write them 

 when I thought of it, and when I had time, never thought of it. This, I pre- 

 sume, is the case with the other members. 



Ul^on receiving notice from the Secretary that a paper was expected from 

 me, I addressed a note to botli of the Northern members, asking their 

 views. One made no reply, the other could only say, " he knew freight and 

 express rates should be cheaper, so that he could get his products to markets 

 that he was now cut otT from by high rates." 



This can not be called a committee report, so I can only give you my own 

 views. 



I must confess (nnyself) to the habit of putting off what I dislike to do, and 

 have nf)t departed from it in this case; have given myself but little time, and 

 am afraid the matter will be very crude. 



If it could be, committees of this kind should be near together, where they 



