MARKETING PRODUCTS 111 



some of this kind, as well as many honest ones, and 

 it has many other manifest disadvantages. The very 

 fact, however, that so large a proportion of the im- 

 mense volume of produce business is still done on 

 this basis shows that there must be other weighty 

 points in its favor. There can be no question but 

 that, as a general rule, it is much better and safer for 

 the farmer to accept a fair, reasonable price for his prod- 

 uce at home rather than to take the risk of shipping 

 it on commission ; yet this very element of risk seems 

 to be an attraction, and it is often much more diffi- 

 cult for produce merchants to buy their supplies in 

 the country than to buy them from the commission 

 men after shipment. The principal reason, however, 

 why direct buying has not become more general, is 

 the great difficulty of securing goods of a known and 

 uniform quality. The staple products are all graded 

 and sold by sample, so that the quality of any given 

 lot is pretty accurately known. This is not possible 

 with fruits and vegetables, where the quality and 

 value of the same lot may vary so widely from day to 

 day. The best remedy so far devised to meet this 

 condition lies in the formation of shipping associa- 

 tions and the establishment of cooperative packing 

 houses, where all tlie produce of a neighborhood can 

 be brought in, and be assorted and packed uniformly. 

 Each packing house of this kind handles enough 

 produce so that its goods become known on the 

 market, and this is a great advantage either in 

 making direct sales or in selling on commission. 



To successfully carry on a large business in the 

 growing and shipping of perishable fruits and vege- 



