498 CALIFORNIA FRUIT SOCIETIES. 



could afford the necessary expenditure, and what the trade 

 learned at their own expense they naturally wished to use for 

 their own purposes; all current information was believed by 

 growers to be colored in the trade interests, and they placed 

 little reliance upon it. There was no doubt that there was a 

 really earnest desire on the part of growers for information 

 compiled by their own agents. It was estimated that this 

 could be supplied them, not thoroughly, at first, but reason- 

 ably well, and better than had before been available, for about 

 $5,000 per year, and it was not doubted that more than five 

 thousand growers would gladly pay $1.00 per year for that 

 information. This belief was greatly strengthened by the 

 great demand for a weekly bulletin, published for a portion 

 of the previous year, by the Santa Clara County Exchange, 

 for the benefit of its stockholders, and regularly given to the 

 press. It was therefore determined to begin actual work by 

 the publication of such a bulletin, with the price fixed at $1.00. 

 Sample numbers were widely distributed among growers, and 

 every effort was made to obtain subscriptions, short of putting 

 actual canvassers in the field, which the price fixed did not 

 admit, and which, besides, was not in accord with the coopera- 

 tive principle. The bulletin, as issued, was regularly given 

 to the press. After three months' trial, it was found that just 

 four hundred and eleven persons — about one hundred of whom 

 were tradesmen — were willing to pay $1.00 per year for infor- 

 mation; the remainder of the growers, although perfectly 

 aware that the existence of the bulletin depended entirely 

 upon the subscriptions received, would pay nothing, since they 

 could get it for nothing in the papers which they received. 

 The bulletin was therefore stopped, with a loss of about $100, 

 including the sum necessary to reimburse those who had paid, 

 by supplying another journal. 



The policy of the Exchange, as it existed in the minds of 

 its promoters, did not contemplate the actual selling of fruit. 

 Sales were to- be made by the local Exchanges, the state 

 Exchange serving as a bond to unite them and transacting for 

 all a large amount of business essential to all alike. The 

 majority of growers, however, having little conception of the 



