STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. I39 



each local society. The California Fruit Growers' Exchange 

 now has over 80 local associations and 14 district organizations. 

 The general office is located in Los Angeles, and is governed by 

 a board of directors, composed of one delegate from each of 

 these 14 district associations. They hire the manager and direct 

 the general policy of the exchange. 



They operate on such a large scale that they can maintain 

 their own selling force. One or more salesmen are located in 

 each of the largest cities of the east, who see to the selling of the 

 crop and keep the general office informed on the conditions of 

 the market. The daily consumption of each city is carefully 

 tabulated, and a record kept of the supply distributed to smaller 

 cities, tributary to the main centers. Each night during the 

 busy season a telegram goes forward to the general office in Los 

 Angeles, giving the sales for the day of the various eastern 

 cities, the quantity received, and an estimate of the probable 

 quantity that can be properly handled the following day. From 

 this mass of telegrams the general office makes out a bulletin, 

 and forwards a copy to each member of the exchange. By the 

 middle of the afternoon each grower knows the condition of 

 the eastern market for the previous day. From these reports 

 the general office also forecasts the probable consumption for 

 the next few days, and instructs each local association how 

 much to pick or ship. 



The average time consumed for a car of fruit to travel from 

 California to New York is 14 days. This means that a car can 

 be six days on its journey before its destination need be decided 

 upon. The California Fruit Growers' Exchange has had as 

 high as 500 cars of fruit rolling eastward without the destina- 

 tion of a single one being determined. The railroads offer a 

 flat freight rate to all cities east of the Mississippi ; hence cars 

 may be diverted at any point without extra charges. As the 

 cars near the eastern cities, the general office, by studying the 

 reports of the telegrams, decides which city can best handle 

 the arrival for the day, then wires diversion orders to the differ- 

 ent agents. This means that the general manager must have at 

 his finger tips, each morning, accurate information of the market 

 conditions of each of the large cities, the quantity of fruit con- 

 sumed each day, a forecast of the imports and the probable ship- 

 ment of competing sections, the whereabouts of every car roll- 



