SELLING METHODS 205 
where shipments are made otherwise, especially are they 
better than the average consignment. The exchange 
management or salesmen can contract directly with the 
buyer, agreeing upon a price, and then there is no after 
difficulty from having the fruit rejected. Also the ex- 
change does not have-to stand the expense of shipping 
the fruit or wait for the money after the fruit leaves 
the track. One large exchange, handling small fruit in 
Missouri, reported a general advance of strawberries of 
60 to 80 cents a crate, where they were sold on track, 
over that received when consigned. 
In the consignment of fruit the method is similar to 
that practiced by the old commission houses. In fact, 
many commission men make a practice of handling only 
earload consignments from exchanges. These consign- 
ments may also go through other routes like the auction 
companies or through a’ special selling agent allowing 
them to dispose of the fruit for what they can get. 
Consignments necessarily follow where the salesmen are 
not able to handle all the fruit and get orders for 
it before it reaches the consuming centers. Where cars 
are shipped long distances they are often handled as 
‘‘tramp cars’’; that is, they are consigned to their agent 
in some of the Eastern cities. 
Points on the Pacific Coast enjoy, for the most part, 
a flat rate on freight tariffs to any point east of the 
Mississippi river. These cars are started off as tramps, 
and upon reaching St. Louis or other points where they 
cross to Eastern territories they are diverted according 
to the requirements or conditions of the market. For 
instance, a recent manager of an exchange reported the 
following: A carload of pears was consigned to Chicago 
