io8 Fruit Fanning for Profit in California, 



great concession to tliis indnstry by tie railroads of the 

 country stands fully acknowledged by shippers engaged 

 in this species of merchandising. The determination 

 of methods of distribution of any species of merchandise 

 does not lie with the carrier. It belongs to the shipper 

 wholly. Fruits are shipped by order of the consignor, 

 and are delivered to the consignee. The vast system 

 of network of railroads, connected by the long distended 

 lines which reach the Pacific Coast, stands ready to 

 perform the carrying service, and has actually per- 

 formed this service at the minimum cost of movement 

 alone. A better system of distribution is, therefore, 

 not obstructed either by the rate at which the fruits 

 are carried, or by want of liberal facilities for the car- 

 riage. Distribution is the office of merchandise. The 

 problem to be solved is, therefore, mercantile, and its 

 solution is with the merchants engaged in this great 

 enterprise, and not with the carrier who carries the 

 fruit to its proper consignment according to order. 



What is sought is a market commensurate with the 

 possibilities of production in this State. The magnitude 

 of the opportunity is appreciated only by those who 

 have given the subject thoughtful attention. A single 

 purchaser of dried fruit in the City of San Francisco 

 purchased in the space of one month one million dollars 

 worth of fruit, and even the recitation of this fact does 

 not disclose fully the vast volume of business possible 

 to that industry. 



The next consideration relates to the profit of fruit- 

 growing. A profit equal to one dollar a tree, or half 

 that sum, or a quarter that sum, will confer upon our 

 commonwealth a profit far in excess of that attending 



