28 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



shall be definitely practical and helpful to the country. While 

 the Department is chiefly interested in assisting the farmer 

 producer, nevertheless it has a very direct, intimate interest 

 and desire to assist the consumer. In order to be in a position 

 to help in some measure in the solution of the problems in- 

 volved in provisioning metropolitan populations of various 

 sizes, investigations of city marketing and distribution have 

 been undertaken. ' This work contemplates a study of the 

 uses and limitations of farmers', municipal, wholesale and 

 retail market houses, curb markets, huckstering, and other sys- 

 tems of city distribution, and an investigation of the feasibility 

 of direct dealing between producers and consumers not only 

 through open market houses but by means of parcel post and 

 express shipments, family hampers, and other methods. 



In this connection also, we propose to encourage the develop- 

 ment of local production of perishables in connection with 

 rural and urban marketing systems. Why should Chicago be 

 getting her cauliflower from Long Island or California at a 

 time when the local producing area could well furnish it? Why 

 should peaches be hauled from Arkansas to Philadelphia at a 

 time when West Virginia can well supply that market? How 

 is it that truck growers in the Mesilla Valley cannot sell their 

 produce in El Paso because of the low price at which the 

 shipped-in CaMfornia product can be bought by the commis- 

 sion men? What can we do legitimately to bring about con- 

 ditions under which the grower near to El Paso can market 

 his product at home without being ruined by the low-priced 

 diverted shipments which are put into that market to avoid 

 sending them to over-supplied markets farther east? This 

 matter of developing home production or production near the 

 large' cities is one of great importance. 



In connection with the study of the utility of parcel post I 

 may say that we have made good progress in determining 

 suitable containers for butter, eggs and certain vegetables. A 

 recent shipment of twenty-five dozen eggs in one and two- 

 dozen lots resulted in a breakage of only five eggs. Here the 

 container is the important thing, and it also seems likely that 

 it may be necessary to ask the Post Office Department to amend 

 its rules in order to make this excellent means of communica- 

 tion of greater practical utility. 



