1310 
tion manufactured on the coast, and 
packaged, 1s offered at $4 per case of 
36 packages, against $5.50 for the Cream 
of Wheat, but the Cream of Wheat sells 
better than either the local packaged ar- 
ticle or the bulk article, for the reason 
that its manufacturers have convinced the 
consumers, through advertising, that it is 
better. 
An almost perfect analogy exists be- 
tween Cream of Wheat vs. bulk farina 
and Northwestern boxed apples vs. the 
Eastern barreled (or bulk) product. Any 
difference is in our favor. If the analogy 
is real and not merely apparent it be- 
hooves the producers of boxed apples to 
study the elements of their merchandis- 
ing problem and take instant steps to 
modernize their selling system. 
Value of Advertising 
For seven years the speaker was con- 
nected with the sales and advertising de- 
partments of the manufacturers of 
“Force,” the well-known breakfast food. 
Those manufacturers appropriated $1,- 
000,000 for advertising before they 
turned out one single package from 
their mills. The manufacturers of Cream 
of Wheat probably did the same thing, 
and what is more important and signifi- 
cant, they maintain their advertising year 
after year, for without it competition 
would soon drive their article out of the 
markets. Compare this performance with 
ours. The comparison isn’t very credit- 
able to us. 
Suppose a company were organized 
with $250,000,000 capital to manufacture 
an article to compete with Cream of 
Wheat and were to build a magnificent 
factory, equip it with the most modern 
machinery, turn out large quantities of 
the manufactured product, induce the 
wholesale grocery trade to buy a stock 
of it and then stop right there. What 
would happen? Why only one thing could 
happen. The wholesaler would find the 
article hard to sell, and would push other 
articles of easier sale; the retailer would 
be slow to take hold of a new article for 
which there was no special demand from 
their trade, and the manufacturer would 
fail. That is just as certain as daylight. 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
But no manufacturer would do any such 
thing. If he did, his bankers would have 
a lunacy commission appointed for him. 
What the manufacturer would do is to 
appropriate a sum of money out of his 
capital and devote it to the creation of 
a demand for his article, through adver- 
tising, and create that demand from the 
ultimate consumer. He would naturally 
depend on the merit of his article to 
please, but he would continue his adver- 
tising campaign year after year, as long 
as he was in business, to defend his busi- 
ness against competitors. Under these 
conditions a whole new situation is cre- 
ated. The retailer would find the con- 
sumers calling for his brand, and would 
have to buy a stock of it in self-protec- 
tion, because if he didn’t his competitor 
across the street would. The wholesalers 
likewise would send to the manufacturers 
for a supply. But whether the retailers 
and wholesalers did this gladly or not, 
the point is they would do it. This ac- 
complished, the manufacturer would own 
a brand which would increase in value 
every year, and which would be superior 
to the fluctuations of the open market 
for bulk commodities. 
Where the Grower Failed 
Now, who will say that the boxed-apple 
producer of the Northwest is not in very 
much the same ridiculous position of the 
manufacturer mentioned in the first in- 
stance? Ours is an investment of $250,- 
000,000. We have provided a magnificent 
plant and equipped it with the most mod- 
ern devices; we have produced a spe 
cialty article of high merit, and have 
packaged it conveniently. But, after un- 
loading our product on the buyers at 
prices which have fluctuated violently 
from year to year, we have stopped— 
dead; and thought our job was done. We 
have expected the jobber and retailer to 
push our product to the consumer, not 
caring whether they made a profit or a 
loss. In fact, any suggestion of profit 
by any middleman has been rather offen- 
sive to us. Yet, we have expected these 
men to push our product, and thereby 
displace barreled and bulk apples on 
which the dealer, perhaps, has invested 
