SHIPMENTS AND DISTRIBUTION" OP TOMATOES. 5 



quality, and price of table stock, when the supplies are locally- 

 obtained, are much modified by the presence of canneries. When 

 prices warrant it on account of small crop or poor transportation 

 facilities from other regions a considerable amount of tke crop ordi- 

 narily going to canneries may be placed upon the market fresh, while 

 on the other hand a plentiful supply will cause very much larger 

 quantities to be offered to the canneries. There are certain localities 

 where the climatic conditions are such that cannery stock can be 

 raised profitably, but where under ordinary conditions it is not 

 profitable to produce tomatoes to ship fresh for table use.' This is 

 sometimes due to the long distance to market and the small local 

 consuming population. A careful investigation of the cannery situa- 

 tion in reference to this crop undoubtedly will aid very much in a 

 clear understanding of the whole tomato marketing situation. 



The effort has been made to separate all figures for tomatoes used 

 for canning stock and include in these tabulations only those shipped 

 for table use. It is very difficult to distinguish accurately between 

 shipments to market and shipments to canneries from the records of 

 carriers in many sections. The tabulation on page 7 shows a total 

 of 11,995 carloads of tomatoes shipped for table use last year and it 

 has been estimated that a somewhat greater number is grown for 

 canneries, catsup factories, etc. The figures of the National Can- 

 ners' Association show that 15,222,000 cases of tomatoes (No. 3 

 size, 24 cans to the case) were packed during the 1914 season. It is 

 possible that a few hundred cars included in the following tabula- 

 tion were so used. On this account there may be slight errors in 

 the figures for some sections. 



The line of demarcation between the regions where the production 

 is principally for table stock and those regions where the crop is 

 grown both for local consumption and for canning probably would 

 pass east and west across the United States through the lower Ohio 

 Valley, and through southern Virginia to Norfolk, the region to the 

 south of this imaginary line specializing in table stock in car lots. 



COMMERCIAL SUPPLY OF TABLE TOMATOES. 



The total reported shipments of table stock for 1914 were 11,995 

 cars, nearly one-half of the entire crop being shipped from the 

 State of Florida, which is practically without competition so far as 

 the production of tomatoes for table use is concerned, as the season 

 there is so early that there are few other districts shipping when the 

 Florida product is put on the market. The States next in impor- 

 tance are Mississippi, New Jersey, and Texas, each shipping from 

 1,100 to 1,500 cars. Ohio and California ship approximately 400 

 cars each; Tennessee, 300; Illinois, 200; and Indiana, 125. There 

 are no other States reported as having shipments reaching 100 cars. 



