i26 THE BOOK OF MARKET GARDENING 



methods of sale available and the means of conveyance 

 at command, pointing out their respective advantages or 

 defects. 



Four systems of disposing of British-grown produce 

 are followed either separately or in combination. These 

 are — 



1. Consignment to salesmen. 



2. Consignment to market, the grower acting as his 



own salesman. 



3. Consignment to the retailers, either shopkeepers 



or hawkers. 



4. Delivery direct to the consumers. 



Consignment to Market Salesmen. — Enormous quantities 

 of garden crops are dealt with under the first-named 

 method, for it offers advantages which have considerable 

 weight with many growers. They can give their whole 

 time to the cultivation and packing of their produce, and 

 thus probably are able in many instances to obtain better 

 results either in bulk or quality. There are plenty of 

 reliable salesmen also who study the interests of their 

 clients as far as they can consistently with the rapid 

 clearance of the goods committed to their care, and who 

 for their own reputation are anxious to secure the best 

 returns. With all such men the grower is perfectly safe, 

 as far as the system can ensure safety, and he has the 

 personal relief of transferring the responsibility of the 

 sale to another person. Salesmen with well-established 

 businesses often have wide connections, which enable 

 them to find outlets for goods that would require long 

 experience for a grower to discover and utilise. 



But there are disadvantages and defects in the system 

 of which the unscrupulous are quick to take advantage, 

 and the growers are in such cases the conscious or 

 unconscious victims. In the first place, a salesman cannot 

 depend upon one producer, and when he sends out an 



