472 The Principles of Fruit-growing. 



lation and the consuming capacity of each, the 

 transportation rates thereto, and all incidental mat- 

 ters which are likely to influence the market from 

 day to day. Having such information before it, the 

 association, if it has the shipping of the larger part 

 of the fruit of any region, can place such quantity 

 in each city or town as can be consumed, and 

 thereby prevent the glutting of the markets. All 

 this can be done only when the system of organi- 

 zation is exceedingly thorough and when the growers 

 are willing to cooperate; but it would likely be a 

 mistake for any organization to expect to enlist in 

 such an enterprise those fruit-growers who are able 

 to find special and personal markets for themselves, 

 as indicated in the next paragraph. Such growers 

 are ordinarily so few, however, that they do not 

 influence the general market conditions. 



Much has been said during the past few years 

 about the shipping of fruit in pools or unions. 

 When the market is very far removed from the 

 producer, so that transportation rates are high, 

 an organization of interests is often necessary. In 

 districts which are so far from markets as the 

 Pacific coast, it is necessary that a man have either 

 a large quantity of fruit to ship or that he ship 

 in conjunction with his neighbors; or, that he sell 

 his fruit outright to buyers. In districts which are 

 close to market, it is rarely advantageous to the 

 growers of the very finest fruits to ship through 

 pools or unions. The difficulty is that the best fruit 

 is sold for about the same price that the poor fruit 



