MARKETING 185 



for certain vegetables, and not more than three to five 

 vegetables may be included in subsequent shipments. 

 The aim, however, is to supply city consumers with an 

 assortment of vegetables just as good, clean and fresh 

 as country people enjoy. Early in the spring the ham- 

 pers are packed with lettuce, radishes, spinach, rhubarb 

 and root crops held over winter. Later, many other 

 vegetables are available, and a full and varied assortment 

 is furnished as the season advances. The hampers are 

 loaded on express trains in the morning and reach the 

 city home in time for dinner. The uniform price the 

 year round is $1.50 a hamper delivered. 



235. Selling to retailer. There are four methods of 

 supplying retailers, (i) To sell to stores or marketmen ; 

 (2) to ship to city retailers; (3) to sell in a wholesale 

 market and (4) to sell at the farm. By selling to retail- 

 ers it is possible to operate on a large scale, because 

 there is more time for production and more vegetables 

 can be marketed in the time available. The cost of pro- 

 duction is much less than when retailing, and the grower 

 can afford to sell for less money. 



When driving to local markets it is important to go 

 every day, if possible, and to establish a regular trade 

 with the most extensive retailers. It is also imperative 

 to reach the market early in the morning, in order that 

 the retailers will have ample time to make deliveries for 

 the noon meal. A good wholesale market is the most 

 satisfactory means of supplying retailers, whether mer- 

 chants or hucksters. 



When living too far from the market to drive, a satis- 

 factory shipping business is often built up. Specializing 

 is most profitable when this is attempted. That is, grow 

 one or a few crops of the highest quality and send them 

 to market in such attractive and perfect condition that 

 dealers will consider them indispensable. 



