Tenth Annual Meeting 23 



frosts came along in May, and they settled the question of the 

 transportation of last year's fruit crop in Connecticut ; there 

 was no trouble in taking care of it. That is about where the 

 matter rests now. Nothing, practically, was done. I do be- 

 lieve, however, that there is, and will be an opportunity for 

 associate work in this state in successfully marketing our fruit 

 products, but we have got one very serious interference; and 

 that is, our splendid local markets tempt every one of us to plan 

 to sell all we can at home, and not bother about what the other 

 fellow will ship away. We are going to take advantage of what 

 we have got, and then if anybody gets tripped up in trying to 

 ship away it will be the other fellow. That fact constantly 

 tempts us away from any plan of cooperative work. I am con- 

 vinced, and I think Air. Evans, who was chairman of a commit- 

 tee that I talked with at a meeting of the State Grange, is 

 convinced that the local conditions are such that all of us want 

 local sales more than we want cooperative work. 'There is no 

 question that there will be an advantage to us in extending our 

 markets, but if that is done it will have to be done by localities, 

 not through or by one general committee, but from centers. 

 For instance, from a center like Hartford, and from another 

 center like Middletown, and another perhaps at Wallingford, 

 and again at Milford, and so on at the various points in the 

 state where fruit is grown in quantities. It seemed to me, and 

 at the same time it appeared to Mr. Evans, that it was a matter 

 for local committees to manage. If you have a local committee, 

 or a local organization, and then in addition to that you have a 

 central organization, it will be about the best thing of the kind 

 you can get. There was an attempt made in Delaware this 

 present year from which we can learn a useful lesson. For ten 

 years they had the Delaware Peach Exchange, which attempted 

 to handle their peaches, and it did it successfully in one way, 

 and very unsuccessfully in another. This season they had a 

 cooperative effort in distribution of the crop, while the central 

 organization aimed to set the standard of grading, picking, etc., 

 and furnished a general label with the number of each grower. 

 And, of course, if he could keep up to the standard, his number 

 told in the market who he was and where he was, and in that 

 way the grower got the benefit of it. We might do something 



