24 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



grower and shipper, especially if he is entirely dependent upon 

 one shipping outlet for his fruit. 



The grower and shipper does not need many moments of 

 thought to realize that disaster would overtake him if by 

 reason of a labor strike or other hindrance his freighting ser- 

 vice and his outlet to markets was interrupted. How manv 

 localities have highways good enough to permit, on emer- 

 gency, moving our fruit quickly, by means of heavv and rap- 

 idly moving trucks or otherwise, to points where it might be 

 possible to sell or get it shipped? I believe that on this side 

 of the transportation question the members of this Society 

 should take a strong stand as favoring the rapid construction 

 of trunk or main roads of a permanent character, and espec- 

 ially to such points as Hartford. Xew Haven, Aliddletown. 

 Bridgeport, Conn., or such points as will give water freight- 

 ing service as well as railroad connections. It is usually wise 

 to have hold of more than one string, and in this matter of 

 getting to market it is certainly the part wisdom to have hold 

 of two, for it is a matter that vitally efifects our prosperity as 

 fruit-growers. 



Another matter, wdiile perhaps not directly coming under 

 the head of this Report, is that of buying our supplies, which 

 I will term "syndicate buying." It was to a certain extent 

 practiced last winter in obtaining materials for orchard work, 

 and is again, at least in my locality, being made use of. 

 Briefly speaking, it enables the different interested growers 

 in a locality convenient to a central unloading point to obtain 

 their supplies in part carload lots at carload prices, with the 

 agreement on, the part of all members of the syndicate to take 

 a certain part of such carload, to assume their proportional 

 part of any surplus that for any reason may exist, and to 

 pay spot cash for goods, any member refusing to pay promptly 

 to be dropped from future syndicates. Many of us cannot 

 use a full carload of a sriven material, and one cannot reason- 

 ably object to paying a profit to a person who takes the risk 

 of buying a car and dividing it up with a chance of a surplus 

 left on hand to be held over. Hence the advantage of syndi- 

 cate buying. For instance, sulphur, of which a minimum car- 

 load is 30,000 lbs. The orchard men of Wallingford and 



