THE MARKETING OF FARM PRODUCTS 877 



shippers now have regular clients from whom they receive orders 

 for definite amounts of fruit. The shipper then procures the 

 required fruit from the growers, if possible, otherwise from the 

 commission agents or jobbers ; grades and packs the fruit and 

 ships to his client, who pays the freight. Men doing business in 

 this way are, of course, enabled to pay much higher prices than 

 the shippers who buy to send to Paris on commission, as they 

 already have their orders and can fill them at any price which 

 would not seem unreasonable to their clients. The average profit 

 of the shippers thus filling orders was about 10 per cent as nearly 

 as could be determined. For the finest selected peaches sent to 

 the fashionable hotels at Vichy, Aix-les-Bains, etc., the profit 

 was much higher than this. 



The prices received by the growers in 191 3 were exceptionally 

 high. During one day only did the price fall as low as 75 francs 

 the 100 kilos, and the following day it immediately jumped to 

 no to 120 francs the 100 kilos. Prices continued to rise until at 

 the time of observation they ranged from 165 to 200 francs. The 

 latter price is the highest ever paid by shippers or jobbers except 

 under very exceptional circumstances. The cost of harvesting 

 peaches was very difficult to determine, as the growers are all 

 small landholders doing most of the work themselves with the 

 help of their families. Six francs the 100 kilos would seem, how- 

 ever, to be the average cost, but this estimate would be increased 

 if hired labor were used. This would include -sorting by the 

 grower himself, which is, as a rule, only rather roughly done. 

 The wages of a hired picker are usually 3 francs a day. 



Cold storage of peaches has very little effect on the market 

 of Lyons, as the capacity of the plant is not great, and up to the 

 present time it has not proved successful. In 191 3, however, 

 one of the large shippers stored a considerable quantity of 

 peaches, apparently with great success. During the short period 

 of low prices he had bought very good fruit at 80 francs the 

 100 kilos. It was very carefully graded and packed for refrigera- 

 tion, and the shipper hoped to get 300 francs the 100 kilos at the 

 end of eight or ten days. The fruit was kept at 2| centigrade 



