^915 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 31 



Experience of Oscar Vanderbilt, Hood River 



DURING four months of the past 

 apple marketing season Oscar 

 Vanderbilt traveled through the mid- 

 dle west in the interest of the Apple 

 Growers' Association. The experi- 

 ences that he tells of point conclusive 

 -ly to the fact that attempts by in- 

 dividual growers to sell their apples 

 lead to disaster, not only for them- 

 selves, but for the established selling 

 machines in those markets demoral- 

 ized by flooding of the independent 

 shipper. 



In the following interview Mr. Van- 

 derbilt gives an account of his experi- 

 ences: "The first four weeks I was 

 out I found the towns of the middle 

 west, where box fruit had never been 

 used, ready to take good quantities of 

 our fruit at prices asked by the asso- 

 ciations. We sold from three to 10 

 carloads of fruit in many places. 

 Dealers were putting the fruit into 

 consumption on a small margin, and 

 business was moving. But just as soon 

 as rates were cut the box apple busi- 

 ness ceased. We had more trouble 

 in selling one carload of fruit than 

 we formerly had in disposing of 111 

 cars. The reason for this was that 

 each dealer was afraid that his com- 

 petitor would buy at a lower price 

 and undersell him in the local mar- 

 ket. They immediately began to press 



their barrel stuff, which had been laid 

 aside for future business. 



"In a number of places I found 

 growers who had shipped their own 

 crops of from one to three carloads 

 and who had followed them up to sell 

 them. They have no doubt by this 

 time learned the error of their way 

 and will never try the venture again. 

 In no case did I find one of these 

 independent shippers getting more 

 than from 65 to 70 cents per box on 

 the track at destination for their fruit. 

 The highest returns I heard of wei-e 

 received by a grower who sold two 

 carloads, composed of Jonathan', 

 Rome Beauties, Ganos and Winesaps, 

 to the Boston Store in Chicago. He 

 received 70 cents a box on track. 

 There was a charge of •'plO per car for 

 demurrage. You can figure for your- 

 self, after this demurrage and fi'eighl 

 was taken out, the apples neltcd lliv 

 grower about nine cents per box. 



"In another instance I found two 

 carloads of apples at Green Bay, Wis., 

 on the tracks. The grower was tryinn 

 to sell them to all buyers. But lliey 

 had quickly Rotten together, and when 

 tlie>' refused the prices he asked, he 

 put them in dry storage and in danger 

 of loss by freezing. I visited the 

 trade, but they told me that Iliey did 

 not want fi'uil at my price, since they 



had two cars in their town already 

 that they expected to get for 65 cents 

 per box. Vou may be sure that I con- 

 cluded to hunt other fields. Dealers 

 as a rule frown on this class of busi- 

 ness, and they handle it in the way 

 they do to discourage it; for it de- 

 moralizes tlieir business. I talked with 

 a number of the growers who tried 

 to sell their own apples this year, and 

 I do not think they will ever try it 

 again. I found in my experiences 

 that the towns that had never handled 

 box fruit were among the most liberal 

 buyers, after they had discovered the 

 qualities of the Northwestern product. 

 "Along with the heavy crop one of 

 the big reasons for poor prices this 

 year was the heavy business done in 

 bulk apples amounting to some 50,000 

 or 60,000 carloads that were sold all 

 over the middle west. The weather in 



Bolster Springs 



__jake any wagon a springwaKon. PreTent 1 

 Tiagcto eggs, fruit, etc.. on roail tumaTkcl- Soon 

 "^avc cost— produce brings more — wagoD lasts longer. 



MADE LIKE FINEST AUTO SPRINGS 



\>ry resilient and durable. The standard springs^ol 1 



Anicrita since i&89. 40 sizes— titany v.igon— 



sust;iin load up to 5 tons. 1 1 not at dealer's, 



write us. Catalog aod fistlul of proof free. 



HARVEY SPRING CO.. T84-17lhSt., RACINE, WIS- 



GUARANTEED 



