FOURTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 77 



(k'tails as \o tniil conditions tlian anywhere else that 1 know 

 of. Tlie resuh is that when the huyers hegan to tan< al)ont the 

 enormons crops and low prices we told them it was not so. 

 We simply had our information at hand and utilized it 1 think 

 verv laroelv. So, ]\lr. President, we simply told those people 

 that they could not put up any such job as that on us. 



Xow I do not know whether your local societies do that or 

 not. Perhaps vou do not engage in the fruit business large 

 enough here to have such local organizations, but tliat is what 

 we did for ourselves last year, and we found it was a wonder- 

 ful benefit in that particular, aside from one or two other little 

 matters. Tt think if the Xew York people had put themselves 

 in touch with the market so as to know thoroughl}' what the 

 conditions of the market were, before they allowed their fruit 

 to go to waste, that they would never get caught in that way 

 again. 



Mr. Cross: Mr. President, let me state for the information 

 of the people on the floor, that the New York State Fruit 

 Growers' Association has one of the most perfect systems for 

 gathering statistics in regard to the crops that there is, and it 

 is about as perfect as I believe can be devised, and their re- 

 port turns out very nearly to the actual result as the statistics 

 have shown. That was very largely the reason why they got 

 left on selling their apples. They knew that there was no such 

 tremendous big crop as some of the buyers tried to make out, 

 but the fact about it was the New York buyers were down there 

 and when the) oflercd such a low price the growers simply fell 

 back and said "We are not going to sell you for such a low 

 price, because there is no such big crop as you say." Then the 

 buyers said "We know better, and we are going to wait until 

 we can get our price. Now either the fact w^as that the gen- 

 tlemen did not state that they came to the buyers' prices, or 

 else the buyers had to have some of that kind of fruit. There 

 was little or no diiiference between the two situations, only the 

 Western New York fellows held off a little too long, and then 

 didn't have time to get their fruit in proper shape to go on the 

 market. In the other case, the Virginia people had a little long- 

 er time to pack their fruit. Out in our State the season is 



