124 STATE HORTinULTURAL SOCIETY. 



senting a bushel and every possible variation of it several times; twenty- 

 five different sizes of baskets customaril}' known on account of their 

 shape as the market basket. 



Efficiency in manufactiiro of containers and in tho distribution of 

 products and just plain ordinary honesty demand a radical change from 

 this situation. The Department of Agriculture has long urged, and 

 the Vestal Bill now before Congress provides for a reduction in the num- 

 ber of hamper baskets to five or six from seventy-four, in the bushel 

 shaped baskets to four from twenty and in market baskets to five from 

 twent3''-five. 



One of the resolutions to which I have already directed your attention 

 covers this matter as well. 



Standardization, particularly when attempted by any one affected 

 interest, or by any agency acting upon its own initiative and not in con- 

 sultation with an industry, particularly as applies to changes in the 

 shape, size or strength of containers, may operate to the great disad- 

 vantage of the grower and shipper. There is a present danger of this 

 character, which does not affect at this moment the State of Michigan, 

 but does affect the whole southeaster territory, in which the American 

 Railway Express Company proposes to forbid the use of bushel baskets 

 for the shipment of peaches and other products. If this movement should 

 extend to the railroad and the Interstate Commerce Commission would 

 permit such an order to be put in force, and force every Georgia peach 

 grower to ship all of his peaches, and every early apple grower in that 

 territory to ship all of his apples in crates, as is now proposed, the price 

 of crates would go sky-high and many growers would not be able to 

 secure sufficient supply for the movement of the 1921 crop. 



Climax baskets have already been standardized and their number 

 reduced from thirteen to three, namely the two, four and twelve quart 

 sizes. 



The extent to which the illicit use of undersized berry tills prevailed 

 was disclosed by the Bureau of Markets several years ago in the case 

 of Denver, where it was found that hundreds of thousands of undersized 

 berry boxes were brought in in a single year for use in repacking berries 

 and small fruits for retail sale. 



4 OF TRADE PRACTICES AND TERMS. 



All of the different types of standardization thus far mentioned and 

 soon to be mentioned, bear a very close relationship; each is essential 

 to the other. With respect to trade practices, standardization is greatly 

 to be desired by every factor from the producer on. 



When a producer or shipper sells a car f.o.b., it is necessary that both 

 parties to the transaction have the same mental concept of what is 

 meant if the transaction is to prove satisfactory^, and the best practice 

 now is to consider the f.o.b. sale to be one in which the commodity 

 quoted or sold is to be placed free on board the car or at shipside at 

 shipping point in suitable shipping condition and that the buyer assumes 

 all risks of damage in transit whether there is a bill of lading to the order 

 of the shipper or not. 



Many of you have had personal experiences of a disagreeable and 

 trying character with respect to sales which you had supposed were 

 made on an f.o.b. basis. Not infrequently, no doubt, it has occurred, 



