92 PROCEEDINGS OF TWENTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERs' CONVENTION. 



REPOET OF THE COMMITTEE ON SAN FRANOISOO AND 

 OTHER COAST MARKETS. 



To the State Horticultural Convention: 



Your committee, to whom was referred the state of the San Francisco and other coast 

 markets, beg leave to report as follows : 



In our opinion the present custom of selling fruit and produce in these markets is 

 wasteful and unnecessarily very expensive, more especially in the following particulars: 



First— The grower, at time of shipment, does not know the quantity of competing 

 produce which his shipment will meet— resulting often in seriously overstocking the 

 markets. 



Second — He has no assurance of fair treatment at all times. 



Third — The charges upon the produce for freight and drayage, owing to shipment in 

 small amounts, is a serious burden in excess of the ten per cent brokerage ; and added 

 to this is the careless loss of boxes which should be returned to the shipper. 



Fourth — The work of selling is now so complicated and conducted by such a multi- 

 tude of brokerage firms that it may perhaps be doubted if these men can afford to do 

 the work at much less than the present rate ; and to maintain this, which they say is but 

 a living rate, they have determined to cooperate, and are doing so most effectively. 



Your committee, therefore, sees no way by which these evils can be remedied except 

 by the cooperation of growers who ship to these coast markets. They alone must con- 

 trol both the distribution and the sale of their products, or suffer the present evils. 



To this end we recommend : 



First— Th&t the growers form local associations in their several localities for taking 

 charge of the assembling and shipment of produce designed for coast markets, to con- 

 trol as largely as possible the total output at such places. 



Second — That these several local associations elect representatives, who shall form a 

 central organization, which shall make such arrangements for shipment and sale as the 

 interests of the producers may require. 



We further recommend that a committee of five be appointed by this Convention, to 

 promote the formation of the above-named organizations. 



A. R. SPRAGUE. 

 F. M. RIGHTER. 

 C. GAINES. 



Upon motion, the report was adopted by the Convention. 

 The Convention then took a recess until 2 o'clock p. m. 



