PROCEEDINGS OF THE SUMMER MEETING 17 



there should be a demand; and then, you are sure of jour stock of 

 baskets, which, to the management, is certainly very satisfactory; third, 

 a manager and assistants to oversee and conduct the business upon 

 business principles. Your manager then becomes the agent for each 

 member of the com})any and does singly what each member would have 

 to do alone if not a member of the union. That it is far cheaper to have 

 all the fruit packed at one place, by one set of hands, for doing this con- 

 tinually for the season they become experts thereat, than to have it 

 done by a score or more of growers, working separately, is also self- 

 evident. 



If there were no other reasons for the combination of farmers and 

 fruitgrowers for protection, the fact that almost all mercantile enter- 

 prises in our cities are united more or less for self-protection ought to 

 point out the great advantage of following the teaching contained in 

 the adage. "In union there is strength." 



DISCUSSION. 



The Secretary: Mr. Hewitt fails to detail the plan of this union as 

 clearly as was done by a gentleman in Holland recently. The fruit 

 remains the property of the producer. Each man's fruit is graded by 

 itself and a record made of it as it is brought to the house, and then 

 is sold together with other of the same grade. Therefore, each man gets 

 credit for his own fruit and is not able to participate in the sale of the 

 better fruit of his neighbor, for they keep this record and so know 

 what portion of grade No. 1 has been furnished by each man and sold. 

 Thev establish their connections with dealers, and with commission 

 merchants for aught I know, and having a telegraph office at hand 

 they learn the condition of the market and make sales through agents 

 in some cities and through reputable dealers in others, and by the plan 

 they establish each man gets the benefit of his own fruit, even as the 

 producer of milk does at his creamery, and a record is kept in the same 

 way. Then payments are made along through the season as may be 

 desired, and a statement made at the close. The scheme has been satis- 

 factory to the stockh9lders. They have a limited number of stock- 

 holders, as a rule, aiming to embrace all the growers in a given vicinity 

 who see fit to come in, and each man holds at least one share of stock, 

 $100, I think. They are capitalized beyond the amount actually paid 

 in, so as to permit of this growth of membership. I think those are 

 the only points that have not been mentioned here. 



Mr. Lawton: I was only going to remark that this method of market- 

 ing fruit seems to be a new idea, something that has developed in 

 recent years, and if it goes on and becomes successful it looks to me 

 as if it would lead to something larger; and that is, that in communities 

 where fruit is produced largely it will be all bought by individuals or 

 by a company or corporation representing capital enough, experience 

 enough, and confidence enough; that they will have facilities for pack- 

 ing and for shipping, will know the markets and know the buyers, and 

 know the methods of packing, and that they will handle all the fruit; 

 that a person who raises it will bring and sell it right there at home. 



