WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTION OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 5 



that inspection and unloading may be accomplished immediately. 

 When firms hare private sidings running into their places of busi- 

 ness, it is usual for all cars shipped direct to them to be placed on 

 these sidings without special instructions. Prompt notification by 

 railroads enables the consignees to divert cars to auction sidings 

 without loss of time when it is expected that the contents will be 

 handled through an auction. 



INSPECTION. 



Soon after arrival it is necessary that an inspection be made. The 

 inspector may be the consignee or his representative. In case the 

 car has been shipped to a broker or a commission man, preliminary 

 inspection is often made by a prospective buyer. If the shipment 

 was made under a " straight " bill of lading, it is necessary that the 

 inspector have a written order issued by the consignee in a form 

 similar to the following: 



Agent, Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, 



Kansas City, Missouri. 

 Dear Sir : Please permit bearer, John Jones, to inspect the contents of car 

 GN 51023 now on track, consigned to me. 



(Signed) J. J. Doe. 



Whenever a shipment is billed " Order notify " or " Shipper's 

 order," the bill of lading should be indorsed thus : " Permit inspec- 

 tion without surrender of bill of lading." This will remove the 

 necessity for issuing inspection orders. As a matter of fact, all bills 

 of lading whether "straight" or "order" should read, "Permit 

 inspection," in order to avoid possible complications at destination. 



Usually the right of inspection by the purchaser is assured in the 

 case of perishable goods, as it would be very unbusinesslike to pur- 

 chase <>r accept a carload of perishables without a careful inspection. 



In all cases where the shipper has no market representative he 

 should arrange to have inspection made by disinterested inspectors 

 in case the shipment is rejected. 



REJECTIONS. 



There are a surprising Dumber of rejections on large markets 

 where great quantities of perishable goods are handled. Few ship- 

 pers have any idea how large this number is. The facts for one prod- 

 uct in one market may illustrate this point. 



From the beginning of the shipping season to July 28, 1914, 3 

 of the l"> railroads touching Kansas City, Mo., brought to that 

 market 227 car- of watermelons. Of this number 47 were rejected 



