6 BULLETIN 266, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



On the market he will see his shipment in competition with the 

 fanciest grades from famous specialized sections. The relative quan- 

 tity of his pack and grade will immediately be apparent. The selling 

 value of well-known brands and labels will be evident. He will see 

 mixed grades sold at a discount as compared with uniform grades and 

 sizes, and he will note the premium paid for attractive packages and 

 quality. These facts and conditions will be impressed upon him 

 with a vividness which no impression conveyed by any written 

 description can equal. 



Railroad officials in the city can be of great help to the producer who 

 visits the market, as they can show him where and how the goods 

 arrive, give him information regarding supplies from various sec- 

 tions at different seasons, from other sections during his own ship- 

 ping season, and finally put him in touch with trade connections 

 and direct customers. The grower who wishes to understand the 

 machinery which intervenes between himself and the consumer 

 can well afford the time and expense necessary to study the following 

 elements which enter into the distribution of goods in a large city: 

 the railroad f acilities for transporting and unloading goods ; arrange- 

 ments for trucking and cartage; cold storage warehouses; kitchens 

 and storages of hotels, restaurants, and clubs; sales methods and 

 handling facilities of auctions, public markets, brokers, car-lot 

 wholesalers, commission merchants, jobbers, grocers, hucksters, 

 peddlers, and fruit-stand men. If possible, it would be profitable 

 to get some prominent dealer to explain in detail how he conducts 

 his business and meets his problems. 



BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY. 



When any considerable amount of produce is to be shipped, it will 

 pay to look up a dealer's commercial standing very carefully before 

 shipping in his care. The commercial rating of any dealer may be 

 secured through a number of sources of information. There are sev- 

 eral firms which make a business of rating the financial and general 

 credit standing of men in different kinds of business, and which 

 publish reports regularly. These publications are of value and give 

 a general idea as to a dealer's standing, yet, as is perhaps inevitable 

 in such matters, in many specific instances they have been found to 

 be inaccurate. This general credit standing is of prime importance, 

 as a man with a very low financial rating may be one of the very best 

 in honest dealings. 



Firm letterheads, giving trade references, should not be accepted 

 at their face value without verification, for it is understood that in 

 some cases firms have made use of the names of banks and other 

 credit institutions without proper authority. 



