192 State Horticultural Society. 



With the increased production of peaches and berries, it is often 

 the case in good crop years that the large markets to which car-load 

 shipments are made become overstocked. This generally results in heavy 

 losses to growers and shippers. Therefore ways and means shoiad be 

 found to avoid this condition. It has occurred to me that there are 

 plenty of people living in smaller cities and towns in different sections 

 of the country, who would be glad to have our fruit, if it could be 

 brought to their doors in suitable quantities and at reasonable pr" \ 



One of the ways to accomplish this is for the railroad companies to 

 grant us the same advantages that are now enjoyed by the watermelon 

 growers — that is, make us a reasonable through rate on full cars with 

 proper refrigeration to certain points, with the privilege of stopping off 

 and supplying each city or town with its respective requirements. This 

 will enable the growers to dispose of a large quantity of their fruits in 

 the smaller markets, and thus avoid over-crowding the larger ones. I 

 hear a good many well meaning, and otherwise intelligent men, talk 

 about the over-production of fruit. It is my opinion that if the fruit 

 growers suffer at all, it will be more from under-consumption than over- 

 production. As I said on a former occasion, there are more people in 

 the United States who do not get enough fruit than there are of those 

 who get too much. All we need is proper distribution and reasonable 

 transportation. And this, as I have already intimated, can largely be 

 accomplished by co-operation between the growers and the transporta- 

 tion lines. 



As an example of what this kind of co-operation has accomplished in 

 another state, I will mention that they have in New York an organization 

 called "The New York State Fruit Growers' Association," which has 

 had considerable experience along this line during the present year. Mr. 

 B. J. Case, an apple grower of Sodus, N. Y., who is a member of the 

 executive committee, told me on his recent visit to Memphis, that in 

 1903, there had been a great scarcity of labor in his section through 

 which is located the Rome and Watertown railroad, a branch line of the 

 New York Central. 



In consequence of this scarcity of labor, hundreds of thousands of 

 bushels of apples had not been picked, thousands of acres of cabbage 

 rotted in the fields and large quantities of potatoes had remained undug. 

 This year, he said, the same conditions had stared them in the face, so 

 they called a meeting of their association, and invited the officials of the 

 New York Central railroad to attend. At this meeting, which was largely 

 attended by the members of the association, as well as by a very repre- 

 sentative delegation of railroad men, the wants of the growers were made 



