FRUIT MARKETS 159 



out and it is not always possible for growers of fruit to 

 be in a position to properly handle such, matters. Hence, 

 the common advice among small growers is to sell at 

 home what he can and let the rest go. 



There are a few well-known faults of producers who 

 sell at home. If he has a surplus he ships it away, and 

 usually the best fruit is what is shipped. Unless there is 

 a large quantity of similar kinds of fruit grown he asks 

 the retailer or consumer in his home town the same 

 price which he would have to pay if he bought from the 

 stores. Often the fruit that he has sent away to other 

 markets will bring him somewhat less than that which 

 he has sold at home. While this is recognized as good 

 business acumen it is a question whether it is conducive 

 to the best interest of the fruit grower. 



Supply and Demand. The two words "Supply and 

 Demand" have been much used and much abused by 

 many of the writers on market questions. There are a 

 number of conditions that effect supply that are in no 

 way related to demand and the converse is true as well. 

 When the supply exceeds the demand it does not neces- 

 sarily mean that there is an over-production. It simply 

 indicates that there is more fruit offered at any one time 

 than there is a market for. It may also mean that the 

 method of distribution is at fault, or because of the in- 

 accessibility of certain markets the supply can not be 

 reached. On the other hand, because there is a heavy 

 demand for certain kinds of fruit it does not necessarily 

 indicate a lack of supply. The word over-production 

 should not be used in the sense that there is too much 

 fruit grown to meet the needs of the consuming public, 

 because this condition has never been reached. 



