376 State Horticultural Society. 



But, however we regard these transactions at the selling end 

 of the route, what must we think of the methods in buying? Good 

 wen, sane in ordinary matters, will actually buy fruits which 

 nature intended should only be consigned, and will purchase upon 

 the representation of somebody 500 or 2,000 miles away that they 

 never knew and never heard of, knowing at the time that they will 

 lose money. Even if what they are accustomed to buy and actually 

 need, they will pay more for the goods than they are worth be- 

 cause somebody else does. They may know nothing actually of 

 what they are buying — either the color, size, pack or quality — but 

 if somebody else has offered a dollar a hundred or a dollar a bar- 

 rel, they will pay $1.05 and order them shipped with draft and bill 

 of lading, examine a box or barrel at the door and begin unload- 

 ing without hesitation or foreboding. If they lose money they 

 buy again on the same reckless basis, confident, apparently, that 

 lightning won't strike twice in the same place. It's too bad to use 

 nice clean white paper to expose to the world the careless, shiftless 

 and unbusiness-like ways of our buyers. But every dealer knows 

 the balance of the story. Let him fill out the particulars for him- 

 self while we hide any further shame from the world. And what 

 do we do to correct this evil? We get together in some associa- 

 tion meeting once a year and publicly and privately damn the 

 other fellow for his participation in these transactions, and pos- 

 sibly suggest a combination to anathematize anybody that does 

 it hereafter, and return to our several places of business to do it 

 over again with the utmost sang froid. 



Now let us take a better view of this matter. It is right to 

 discuss these matters at our annual conventions and endeavor to 

 educate all dealers to a proper appreciation of these evils, to build 

 up a proper sentiment against the practice of buying constant 

 losses and to encourage each man to let deals alone in which he can 

 see no possible profit. We gain by these meetings in many ways. We 

 obtain better, broader and saner business views if we are mind to 

 profit by our own experience and the experience of others, and I 

 cannot too highly commend the influence of these annual gather- 

 ings of the intelligent and bright lights in our "profession." I 

 would encourage, and, if possible, require the attendance of every 

 man engaged as a jobber of fruits or produce. There the folly 

 of such methods as I have described should be set forth fully, and 

 an effort made to present safer business methods and prevent the 

 plungers from committing hari-kari. Without favoring combina- 

 tion I would convince them of the certainty of loss in all such wild 



