FRUIT MARKETS 155 



retailers or to the small grocery stores in the home 

 towns. Arrangements can be made ahead of time 

 for the grower to produce such material as can be 

 sold readily by the retailer. This does away with con- 

 siderable personal canvassing and gives the grower more 

 time to attend to the producing end of the business. 

 Furthermore, it often promotes a more friendly feeling 

 between the producers and the retailers because where 

 the grower retails his own produce he becomes a com- 

 petitor of the retail stores, hence often they do not work 

 in harmony. Where retailers are patronized direct the 

 grower cannot expect as large returns as from the sell- 

 ing of his own goods to the consumer because the retailer 

 must then make his profit which on the more perishable 

 fruits runs from 25 to 100% of the value. 



Another method often resorted to by the producer is 

 to sell direct to buyers in the home town. The more 

 staple articles of fruit and vegetables can often be dis- 

 posed of this way. The buyer then assumes the responsi- 

 bility of the fruit and does the shipping or selling at 

 his own risks. The grower settles his account then with 

 the buyer and gets his money before the goods are 

 shipped out of town. This occasionally is a very satis- 

 factory method, but often the buyer is well posted on the 

 market conditions and does not presume to take any 

 great risk, hence the price offered for the goods is usually 

 very much less than could be realized if the grower 

 choose to handle the sales himself. 



Selling Away From Home. Where fruit is shipped 

 beyond the distance that it is possible to deliver by the 

 grower, then it must be trusted in the hands of some 

 third party. Often the railroad companies or boat lines. 



