TWENTY-EIGHTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



115 



or none will fall on barren ground. To facilitate this work the man 

 already here should bury his hatchet, take the brads from his heels, and 

 throw away his hammer. 



It is gratifying to note the rapid advancement toward these ends, and 

 how readily interior organizations adapt their work to the best ideas. 

 In Northern and Central California the local boards of trade, chambers 

 of commerce, development associations, etc., are rendering the atmos- 

 phere unhealthy for that species of biped , known as the "knocker," and 

 he is either changing his profession or leaving the country. This is a 

 very encouraging sign. It portends a healthy condition, and when there 

 is a healthy public sentiment among a people in favor of the community 

 in which they live, half the fight for the advancement of that commu- 

 nity is won. Hence, if a local body does no more than kill or drive out 

 the " knockers" it will have fully justified its existence and done enough 

 to entitle it to the gratitude and support of every well-wisher of the 

 community. 



To indicate how inadequately this work is done at present and how 

 much room there is for expansion, it is only necessary to note that 

 last year the State Board of Trade distributed by mail and otherwise 

 250,000 pieces of California literature. This on its face seems a large 

 quantity, and certainly its distribution involved a great deal of patient 

 work and a big bill for postage, and yet assuming that none of this 

 went into foreign countries it can be appreciated how thinly this amount 

 would spread over the United States. It would be only one copy to 

 each three hundred and twenty souls. At the same rate it would 

 require three hundred and twenty years to send out one copy of our 

 literature to each inhabitant of this country. At the end of that time 

 the population would have more than doubled, so that at the same rate 

 the State Board of Trade would be further behind in three hundred and 

 twenty years from now in its endeavor to cover the field than it is at 

 present. This calculation does not take into account the vast and 

 fruitful foreign fields which must not be ignored in this line of work. 

 But then the State Board of Trade is growing and its facilities are 

 increasing. Besides, the burden is not all on its shoulders. Other 

 bodies are helping with the work and are doing yeoman service, and 

 these other bodies, we are pleased to say, are multiplying and growing 

 in strength. In addition to these the transportation companies are 

 mighty factors in advertising the State and promoting its development. 



The southern counties, as we have said, have been organized a long 

 time, and have been active and effective. The northern and central 

 counties are organizing and are becoming effective. The work grows. 

 All parts of the State appear to be awakening to the importance of 

 advertising. The people, even in some of the remote counties, are 

 becoming infected with a desire to do something for their respective 



