COOPERATION 



An Example of Cooperation. An example of successful cooper- 

 ation is found among the farmers of Kentucky. The farmers of 

 Warren County, in the territory adjacent to Bowling Green, have 

 been able to bring to perfection a certain variety of strawberry 

 known as the Aroma. But the marketing of this highly perishable 

 fruit proved a task beyond the powers of the ordinary farmer, 

 and hence under wise leadership the growers associated them- 

 selves together, and in 1909 incorporated the Warren County 

 Strawberry Growers' Association, a cooperative corporation. This 

 section of the Blue Grass State now has the reutation of 





Fia. 24. Warren County, Kentucky Stnivv I >rrry Association, picking the berries. (U.S. I). \.i 



the largest strawberry growing and shipping point in the world. 

 The fruit is shipped in attractively labeled crates. For the 1917 

 crop ninety carloads of crate material was contracted for in 

 advance. The railroad cooperated by building additional loading 

 sheds and new trackage, and by running special strawberry trains 

 of ten cars or more, to the northern markets, on regular passenger 

 train time. The marketing of the berries is done by the Growers' 

 Association, in charge of an efficient manager (Figs. 24 and 25). 



The important link in the chain is the Inspection Service. All 

 of the fruit put out by the association is inspected before loading, 

 and is put up in three distinct grades. The association has adopted 

 a very stringent code of rules on the grading of the fruit. By thus 

 standardizing their product and truthfully labeling it they are 

 able to sell this vast quantity of perishable stuff by wire on the 



