6 COOPERATIVE MARKETING 



lower grades unless the prices are very attractive. The 

 principle is the same as that which governs the prices of 

 second hand articles: no matter if they contain practically 

 as many uses as new articles, they will be taken only at a 

 heavy discount. And it is impossible for the ordinary re- 

 tailer, catering to a widely fluctuating demand, to quote 

 these inviting prices. So he resigns himself to the policy 

 of a few sales at high profits rather than numerous sales 

 on a narrow margin. As a result many of those who would, 

 to their own great physical improvement, consume enor- 

 mous quantities of fresh produce of the second and third 

 qualities at present consume very small amounts of fruits 

 and vegetables because of their inability to obtain anything 

 but first grade commodities or lower grades only at rela- 

 tively high prices. 



The effect of this situation is threefold: (i) consumers 

 suffer through the failure to obtain a properly balanced 

 diet; (2) producers suffer through inability to market large 

 portions of their crops, for there are always more small 

 apples than large; (3) society as a whole suffers through 

 the waste of commodities which, under a less expensive 

 distributive system, would have an economic value. There 

 is no market for small apples at four cents a pound, but 

 at one cent a pound the demand would be enormous. More- 

 over, apples to any amount can be grown for one cent a 

 pound, but under the present system the price is two cents 

 a pound or more by the time the consumer is reached, and 

 in all probability demand is reduced by three-fourths. 



It was through observing the fact that peaches on the 

 Los Angeles market were at one time selling at five cents 

 a pound while forty miles distant they were selling in the 

 orchard at $2.50 a ton or i J4 rnills a pound that the present 

 writer became interested in the marketing problem. De- 

 velopments in the technique of production have obviously 



