HARVESTING, MARKETING AND STORING FRUIT. 105 



It is picked in, but should be sorted into other suitable pack- 

 ages in a cool storehouse. 



Local peddling is possible where the grower lives near his 

 customers. In some sections the dealers have combined and se- 

 cured legislation which has made this prohibitory; but where 

 practicable, it is a very satisfactory way of disposing of the 

 product so as to get the highest possible price. A variety of 

 fruits are most easily disposed of in this way and under some 

 conditions it is a good plan to combine the peddling of fruit 

 with a vegetable business. 



Commission Dealer. The larger grower must find some 

 party to sell his produce. It may be best for him to do this 

 through the commission merchant. In any case, it should be 

 understood that the larger grower has a decided advantage over 

 the small grower as he is a bigger factor in the market and will 

 receive more attention. It is most important to secure an hon- 

 est and able commission dealer if the business is to be done in 

 this way. The usual charge for handling fruit is 10% of the 

 gross sales. 



Associations of fruit growers, when well managed, offer the 

 most satisfactory method of selling. Here the sales are made 

 by an agent of the growers. Such an arrangement gives to a 

 large number of small growers a power in the market equal 

 to that of the big grower and shipper. It prevents their com- 

 peting injuriously with one another in the local or distant mar- 

 ket and reduces marketing to a simpler matter. The small grow- 

 er can stay at home and look after the picking and packing, as 

 he does not have to go to market when he sells through an as- 

 sociation, and still he is a controlling factor in the market. 

 Organizations of this kind should have correspondents over a 

 large territory and they can often ignore the prices prevailing in 

 the local markets. 



Fruit Packages. 



Packing. The packages for fruits are many and various 

 and the shipper should be familiar with them all. In some of 

 the older fruit sections it is customary to have the pack- 

 ages for small fruit returned to the packer. As a rule this 

 is a poor practice and results in the use of unsightly pack- 



