199S 



MAHKET-CAKHKNING 



In oonsitlorinu inn'r(TO]>i)iiis: i)luns, the gardener 

 sliouUi bo well infonnoil concorniii}; tlio roquircinoiifs of 

 each crop. — its habit of urowtli, soi!-a(l!i|)tatioii, spacp- 

 requircinent, susceptibiht\' to <lisea.sc- and insect dcitre- 

 dations, time of niaturiiijj, and tlic liUi>. 



The outlook for iiiarkin-nanleninn in America was 

 never more encoiiratiiiid tlian at tlic present time. 

 Great advances in prices need not be exi)ected, but the 

 rising jirices of meats will unquestionably favorably 

 influence the market for vegetables. Our inarkets are 

 demanding the highest quality of vegetables, and every 

 gardener should attempt to grow the best and to place 

 it on the market in the most attractive condition. Pro- 

 fits in market-gardening depend quite as much \ipon 

 the grower's ability as a market-man as u|)on his skill 

 in production. ]; l \\ .\tts. 



MARKETING OF HORTICULTURAL PROD- 

 UCE. The growing and disposing of horticultural 

 products have from earliest times been bound together. 

 Within the pa.st decade, the tendency to dissolve the 

 marketing from the production luus been develoiiing 

 ver>' perceptibly. This <iivision of labor ha.s doubtless 

 been due to the rapid incre;use in the amount of detail 

 and skill required to do both producing and market- 

 ing succes,«fully. 



The business of disposing of horticultural products is 

 now somewhat specialized and follows fairly well- 

 defined lines. These may be described as (1) marketing 

 directly to the consumer; (2) marketing indirectly or 

 through middlemen of the many and various kinds; {'.)) 

 marketing through coojierative associations. 



Marketing directly In the consumer. 



By this is meant sending the produce directly from 

 the producing region. This is the simplest, easiest and 

 most satisfactory of all ways. The producer, in this 

 way, receives the be.st returns for his crop, and the con- 

 .sxmier secures the produce for the most reasonable 

 price and without the delays between harvesting and 

 selling which very often cause serious deterioration. 

 Many fruit- an<l vegetable-growers liave worked up a 

 satisfactorj- business by di.sposing of their products in 

 this way. This is usually initiated by frienils of one or 

 both parties and later supplemented by cards inclcjscd 

 in the package and Vjy advertisements. It is a fairly 

 common practice for fruit-growers to sell directly to an 

 association of fanners in a grain or dairy region. A 

 persfjnal confidence between the grower and the con- 

 sumer develops from this method of dealing, and so long 

 as neither side destroys this confidences the customer 

 becomes an advertising agent for tlie grower. 



It wa.s thought that the parcels-post system would 

 stimulate direct selling. It h;is been practised to some 

 extent, but there sc'crns to be no verj- immediate likeli- 

 hood that it will become a large factor for bringing the 

 horticultural prod\icer anrl consumer together. So 

 many horticultural products are of a highly perishable 

 nature, while many of a less perishable nature are U)0 

 bulky. 



In some cities, marketing directly to the consumer 

 is done through city public markets, with satisfactory 

 re»ult.s to the producer and the consumer. These mar- 

 keting centers are u.sually constructed by the cities, 

 and for a small fee the farmers, garden('rs anfl fruit- 

 lip-owers rent stalls or stands. Rules and regulations for 

 the c/jnduct of the bu.sine.ss of selling are usu.illy i)re- 



MARKETING 



Gcribed by the city go\-ernment, and they arc enforced 

 by the superintendent of markets or other ollicial in 

 charge. The market is opened and closed and selling 

 is active at designated hom-s. Usually all sales are 

 made f<ir I'ash and the buyer carries home all i)roiluce 

 inu-clia.-ied. This marketing liriTigs closely together, to 

 their mutual benelit, the producer and consmner. .\s 

 the overhead expenses of marketing are reduced to :v 

 mininunu, the jniblic markets have been important 

 factors in reducing the cost of living in many com- 

 munities. 



Marketing indircclly or through middlemen. 



A large jiart of the horticultural products are sold 

 by the grower to jobbers, dealers and retail nierchants. 

 This is the next step in the evolution from direct selling. 

 Much harsh crilicisni has been applied to the middle- 

 man; liowever, there can be no doubt but that he has 

 an iin|)ortant i)laci> in the di,s])osition and distribution 

 of liortic\iltural ])roducts. The marketing and distribu- 

 ting has rai)idlv become .such an intricate, extensive and 

 S])ecialized business of itself that few fruit-growers can 

 afford the time or have the business training or skill 

 required to do this work well. 



Tliere u7idoul)tedly always will be a place for the 

 iniildleman in the distrilmtion of produce .so long as 

 many kinds, grades and varieties of products similar in 

 a general way are grown on small farms and sent to 

 distant markets to be sold. 



The middleman is, in reality, a distributor. It would 

 be impossible for the men who grow the crop to place 

 or distribute it in markets over the country .so that it 

 might be purchased at a reasonable price in many 

 regions, and not jxTmitted to accumulate in too large 

 quantities in some markets while in others there would 

 be a .scarcity or nothing. Horticultural products are, 

 in a large number of ca.ses, highly perishable and mar- 

 kets Timst be iirovided some time in advance of the 

 ripening of the crop. This requires capital, familiarity 

 with trade in many sections, confidence, good-will, 

 and wide acquaintance with the many outlets. 



The general term "iriiddleman" may include buyers, 

 commission men, jobbers, dealers, brokers, auction 

 companies, solicitors, speculators and distributing 

 agencies. 



(a) Buyers and jobbers. 



The term "buyer" in the mind of the truck- or fruit- 

 grower, in most ])roducing sections, is any individual 

 who is located at the shipping-stations and eiideavors to 

 buy produce from the grower as it is brought in from the 

 gardens an<l farms. These buyers may be operating the 

 business for themselves, endeavoring to'get together a 

 carload of mixed or similar jjroduc-ts to be shipped or 

 consigned to the market. They may be rqjrcsentatives 

 of a jobbing or commission company, working on a salary 

 or commission on the business accomplished. It is their 

 entire purpose to buy the highest grade and best packed 

 pnxlucts at the lowest price that the grower will take for 

 them . These buyers may buy one or several kinds of prod- 

 uce but usually they want but one kind and one grade. 

 These men make a special Viusiness of buying one kind 

 of produce at a time and many of them "follow the 

 croj)," i.e., begin in the southern states to buy when the 

 crop is harvested and move north a,s the later crops are 

 ready for market. This applies especially to strawber- 

 ries, potatoes, i)eaches, aiid tomatoes. They do not have 

 an office or permanent location and may or may not 

 return to the same place season after season. 



Carlot ))urr'ha,sers are cla-ssified as "jobbers." They 

 usually have a j>ennanent location, an office, scales, and 

 other e(|uipment and return season after season to the 

 same ijlace. This is especially true in some of the 

 important jjotalo-growing sections. 



Some jobbers have a warehouses or store in the city 

 and do a general fruit and prodiuse business through the 



