232 MICHIGAN ACADEMT OF SCIENCE. 



of the product must be brought to the attention of buyers by solicita- 

 tion. Co-operative concerns deal largely with retailers who have no men 

 in the field, thus a soliciting agent is a necessity for any union doing a 

 large business. Fourth, There is a lack of cash capital in the average 

 co-operative company. Many fruit growers must borrow on the coming 

 crop. Associations have to compete with private buyers who supply their 

 agents with ready cash to advance on the crop. Fifth, Fruit unions 

 seldom adjust themselves properly to the regular trade. They quarrel 

 with commission men and seldom are able in times of glutted markets to 

 deal with them. For most part the relations between the unions and 

 the retail dealers are strained, each suspects and watches the other. 



These, in brief, are the chief difficulties to be overcome in the co-opera- 

 tive movement, — difficulties not at all insurmountable but ones which 

 are likely to be lasting, inasmuch as they must be overcome by the pro- 

 verbially conservative producer. 



The second problem, and one which is rapidly solving itself, is trans- 

 portation. In transporting fruit there are now two distinct undertak- 

 ings. First, To lay the fruit down in the least possible time in a desig- 

 nated consuming centre — transportation i)roper. Second, To see that 

 the fruit reaches aforesaid center in the best possible condition — or 

 refrigeration. The California fruit-growers succeed in putting their 

 fruit upon the market in better condition than do growers in any other 

 section and under the tremendous disadvantage of distance, and of moun- 

 tains, deserts, and extremes of heat and cold to be traversed. 



Three factors enable California to thus out-rival competitors in trans- 

 portation. First, Co-operative marketing systems are largely developed 

 in that State and these by combining into Fruit-growers and Shippers 

 Unions, secure valuable concessions from railroads. They are enabled, 

 also, to distribute the output evenly among large and small markets 

 thus avoiding gluts and depressed prices. 



Second, They try to ship nothing in the fresh state but the very best, 

 put up in a neat attractive way and in the best condition to stand ship- 

 ment. California is largely enabled to thus ship a better grade of fruit 

 than competitors because canning, evaporating and by-product estab- 

 lishments, to use the poorer grades, are found wherever fruit is grown. 



Third, The improvement of fruit cars to secure ventilation and refrig- 

 eration. This is more important to them than to other shippers, yet 

 there is much to be improved in these respects in Eastern shipping. 

 Refrigeration is a technical and a difficult matter. Fruit-growers must 

 force the fruit shipping railroads to take the matter up and give efficient 

 and cheap service in this respect. California has done this. 



Leaving the matter of transportation we come to a third prol)lem, 

 cold storage. Cold storage is playing a most important part in the' 

 economic development of commercial fruit-growing. It improves prices 

 for both producer and consumer in that it keeps up the price for the 

 producer when the market is overloaded, and in turn keeps the market 

 from rising when the supply from the grower is small. It doubles the 

 selling season for most fruits. Its possibilities are not yet remotely 

 realized. Another decade and many large fruit farms will have cold- 

 storage houses. The construction of a cold-storage plant by a number 

 of growers in one locality is a feasible plan and ought to pay. City cold 

 storage charges are exorbitant for bulky fruits and vegetables which are 



