196 Large and Small Holdings 



collecting milk and dairy produce and sending it to the large towns, 

 which proved very beneficial especially to small holders 1 . 



Similar advantages are to be expected from organisation on the 

 part of small growers of fruit and vegetables. Their case is very 

 similar to that of the butter-makers. The small gardeners too 

 complain of the preferential tariffs obtained by foreign growers from 

 the railway companies, and the cause is the same, viz. that the 

 English growers can neither send large quantities nor keep regular 

 times. The companies have to some extent met the small growers in 

 the same way as they promise to do for the butter-makers if these 

 will organise. The initiative, in fact, was not taken by the growers, 

 but by one of the railway companies themselves. Baskets of a certain 

 uniform size were offered to the fruit-growers at a low price, and the 

 tariff was lowered for those who made use of these baskets. This 

 unique system of collection was introduced by the Great Eastern 

 Railway Company in December 1895. The number of such baskets 

 used was 2 



In the 1st year 60,034 



2nd 112,098 

 3rd I35,86o 



The mere substitution of uniformity for diversity in the size and 

 shape of basket used in packing was thus sufficient to enable the 

 company to lower its charges. It is evident that much greater results 

 might be expected from the establishment of co-operative depots, 

 which would not simply pack the goods in a uniform manner, but 

 would secure what is still more important, the sending regularly and 

 in large quantities. Nor would the benefits to be derived by the 

 small holder from co-operative organisation be limited to the lessen- 

 ing of cost of transport. Here again the establishment of depots 

 would enable the producer to get better terms from the purchaser. 

 The goods, say for example apples, would be carefully graded at the 

 depots, and whereas the small grower gets little more for his com- 

 paratively few first-class fruits than for his ordinary medium or poor 

 produce, the association would have a large amount of each quality 

 at disposal. The best specimens would be chosen out, carefully 

 packed, and sold in quantity by experienced dealers at much better 

 prices than the unorganised individual could get, selling the whole of 



1 See Report of 1894, qu. 3841. 



1 Graham, Revival etc., pp. 211 and 112. 



