Part IL] FRUIT GROWERS' ASSOCIATION. 177 



annually. Only two new ones may be elected at any one time. 

 This board elects the officers of the association and hires all of 

 the employees, fixing their compensation. One of the most im- 

 portant things that the directors do is to determine how the 

 fruit shall be packed, and they have full power to reject any lot 

 not considered up to the standard. Since so much depends 

 upon the board of directors, we are very careful in choosing 

 them. As these men practically give their services, receiving 

 only $1 for attendance at each meeting, they must be men un- 

 selfish, broad minded and alive to the interests of all the 

 members. We have always been able to secure the services of 

 men of this sort. 



After organization the first thing to do was to define exactly 

 the place and purpose of the association. As set forth in our 

 by-laws, our object is threefold. 



1. To secure to the fruit growers of Oxford County and 

 vicinity all possible advantages in marketing their fruit. 



2. To build up a standard of excellence. 



3. To create a demand for the same. 



Our aims are not confined to these few things, however. 

 Broadly speaking, the purpose is so to co-operate in our business 

 that we may not only render valuable service to our members 

 in every way, but that w^e may also, by setting an example, 

 help in establishing a better community spirit. 



We early recognized the necessity of establishing a name for 

 ourselves. We began by selecting a name for our organization 

 which should be distinctive and at the same time representative 

 of our section of the country. After choosing the name Oxford 

 Bears Fruit Growers' Association, we immediately set about to 

 design a trademark by which our brand should be known on 

 the market. This trademark appears on the label in every 

 barrel and on every box of apples packed by the association. 

 It stands for quality first, the phrase we have taken for our 

 motto. We have never had a special appropriation for adver- 

 tising. We believe that honestly packed fruit placed on the 

 market under a brand name will advertise itself. Our experi- 

 ence has borne out the truth of this statement. The label and 

 what it stands for have been enough. One thing that has 

 enabled us to establish a name for ourselves is the making up 



