44 AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATION 



previously controlled the situation, and this, too, with such 

 monopolistic tendencies that a desire to escape from their 

 " exaggerated claims " is said to have been one of the 

 primary reasons for the eventual resort to the system of 

 organisation for sale. 



Upon how big a scale some of these societies operate may 

 be shown by a few facts concerning the California Fruit 

 Growers' Exchange. 



This central body, the headquarters of which are at Los 

 Angeles, is elected by fourteen district associations, them- 

 selves representing about ioo local societies of fruit-growers. 

 The local societies collect the fruit from their associated 

 members and see to the packing and the forwarding of it, 

 in complete truck loads, to one or other of seventy-five paid 

 agents established near the chief markets of the United 

 States and Canada, or in London. In the event of the 

 producer not having specified (as he is at liberty to do) to 

 whom his consignments are to be delivered, the agents 

 arrange the sale and get the best possible terms. At 

 Chicago and Omaha there are general agents who direct the 

 operations of the local agents and keep in close touch with 

 the markets, advising daily by telegraph or telephone. 

 Information as to markets is also regularly supplied by the 

 staff of agents. 



In 1909 the number of fruit-growers connected with this 

 one organisation was between 10,000 and 12,000 ; the 

 consignments of fruit made by the society amounted to 

 14,500,000 boxes ; the accounts showed an aggregate profit of 

 £4>575> 000 > while in addition to the increased net returns in 

 the price of their products the growers saved about 50 per 

 cent, in their expenses as compared with what their expen- 

 diture would have been under former conditions. 



Another society, the Peninsular Products Exchange of 

 Maryland, which does an annual business of about £400,000, 

 is said to spend £2,000 a year on gaining information as to 

 the different markets. 



In co-operative production the chief success attained in 

 the United States has been in regard to co-operative dairies. 



