HANDLING THE CITRUS CROP. 457 



MARKETING. 



The ways in which the fruit is disposed of may be 

 roughly divided into (1) Selling to a private trade. 

 (2) Selling through commission merchants. (3) Sell- 

 ing through associations. Each person must make his own 

 choice,, after carefully considering the merits of each 

 system. 



The Private Trade. The fruit supplied to the private 

 trade must be strictly fancy, and first-class in every re- 

 spect. It must be neatly and carefully packed, in clean, 

 neat packages. Everything in the appearance of the pack- 

 age and the quality of the contents must be indicative of 

 a desire to please and satisfy the taste of the consumer. 



Large quantities of fruit cannot be handled in a pri- 

 vate trade. But when a trade is once established, there is 

 a handsome profit from a comparatively small number of 

 boxes. 



The price obtained is, of course, much above that 

 paid for ordinary packages. A fair price should be set 

 on each package, and if a prospective buyer does not care 

 to pay that price, then let him purchase elsewhere. 



Every effort should be made to supply the same kind 

 and grade of fruit each month or year. Do not ship a 

 box of oranges of superior quality to a private customer 

 one month and follow it up thirty days later with a some- 

 what inferior package. That is likely to create distrust, 

 but let the fruit in the different shipments be uniform. 

 The object should always be to hold a customer, once he 

 is secured. Give him fruit that will make him want more 

 of the same. 



The fruit, going out as it does in small lots of one 

 to five boxes, must generally be shipped by express. Ex- 

 press rates from the citrus districts are high, hence the 



