THE MARKETING OF FARM PRODUCTS 883 



STAPLE VEGETABLES IN LONDON 

 By Emmett K. Carver 



The methods of selHng vegetables in London are practically 

 the same as in Manchester, except that nearly all the produce 

 is sold directly from the wholesaler to the greengrocer without 

 the intervention of the huckster. Instead of having one large 

 market, however, London has several smaller ones. The Covent 

 Garden, Borough, and Spitalfields markets are the chief vegetable 

 markets. 



The Covent Garden market is situated in the center of London 

 within a few minutes walk of Charing Cross. It, together with 

 much of the surrounding land, is 'the property of the Duke of 

 Bedford, to whom all rents, tolls, etc., go. Most of the flowers 

 for London go through this market, and a great many vegetables 

 from Belgium and Holland, as well as from the surrounding 

 country, are sold here. There is also a large auctioneering hall 

 where foreign fruits, onions, etc., are sold. 



The Borough Market belongs to the borough of Southwark. 

 It is situated in one of the poorer sections of the city, at the south- 

 ern end of London Bridge. Although a few flowers are sold here, 

 the chief commodity is vegetables, some of which are sold by com- 

 missioners, buyers, etc., and some by truck farmers who cart their 

 produce in themselves. 



The Spitalfields Market is situated near the banking section 

 and not far from a poor residential district. It is about the same 

 as the Borough Market although a little larger. The Stratford 

 Market is a rather unimportant market just outside of London. 



A rather interesting experiment is being tried at the Covent 

 Garden Market. The Agricultural Organization Society has 

 formed a cooperative society for selling farm produce. The society 

 has a shop just on the border of the market, and it does business 

 in just the same way that other dealers do. It is only moderately 

 successful at present. It trades in almost exactly the same way 

 as the other merchants, and so has just as many expenses. What 

 would be profits to the private trader are eaten up by the salaries 

 of the managers. The directors feel that if the members were 



