SPECIAL FRUIT ORGANIZATIONS 227 



fore the harvesting began so the agents could get ad- 

 vance sales. In this manner several hundred carloads 

 were sold before any fruit was harvested. This associa^ 

 tion, handling all the different kinds of fruit as well as 

 vegetables, was able to keep the selling force active 

 throughout the year, thus maintaining a permanent sell- 

 ing organization. 



The sales policy was developed along rather broad 

 lines. The prevailing custom had been to start off the 

 season with as high a price as the market would stand 

 and then drop as it became necessary to move the fruit. 

 The distributing association did not do this, but instead 

 started the season rather low and maintained a uniform 

 price throughout the year. This inspired confidence 

 among the buyers and they were not afraid to stock 

 up heavy early in the season. The advance sales were 

 moved out as the fruit became available. The cars were 

 loaded with mixed varieties and grades, according to 

 the wishes of the buyers. 



Fruit that was not sold when ready to ship was either 

 placed in storage or started East as tramp cars, trusting 

 that the agents would be able to place them by the time 

 they reached their destination. Such tramp cars would 

 be consigned to some Eastern agent. A complete mani- 

 fest of the contents of the car was mailed to each agent 

 with instructions to sell at the market or a definite price 

 might be set by the sales manager. If the car was not 

 sold by the time of its arrival it would be placed in 

 storage or disposed of through the auctions. 



Results of the First Year. The selling was com- 

 menced in July., 1913, and the first year a total of 6,208 

 cars were handled. The business comprised nearly 



