TWENTY-EIGHTH FRUIT-GROWERS 7 CONVENTION. 



135 



PROCEEDINGS OF THIRD DAY. 



Thursday, May 7, 1903. 



The Convention was called to order at 9:30 o'clock a. m. President 

 Cooper in the chair. 



THE MARKETING OF WALNUTS AND DRIED FRUIT. 



By J. B. NEFF, of Anaheim, 

 General Manager of California Fruit and Produce Exchange, Los Angeles. 



Having been successful in growing and curing walnuts and deciduous 

 fruit, the next thing which confronts the grower is the problem of get- 

 ting the walnuts and dried fruit into market in such a manner that he 

 will get a fair share of the price which consumers are willing to pay for 

 them. 



Marketing through, or by, associations is likely to be the plan that is 

 finally decided upon, as associations in all other lines are much more 

 effective than single efforts. 



The first fruit associations of this State were loosely held together. 

 Joining the association did not mean that the member was to ship his 

 fruit through the association, unless it suited his pleasure at shipping 

 time. 



While this method was followed the association did not, and could 

 not, give any better returns than any other shipper. 



Experience has shown that membership in a co-operative marketing 

 association must be accompanied by a contract which will secure to the 

 association all of the product of its members, in order to be at all suc- 

 cessful, and that the contract of membership should be for a long term 

 of years. A joint stock company, or a co-operative association having a 

 charter from the State, seems best suited to such cases. 



Co-operation seems to move slowly among deciduous fruit-growers, 

 while they are certainly the people who are to be most benefited by 

 such movement when properly carried out. They seem to have a won- 

 derful ability in drafting " resolutions" of good intentions, which are 

 always passed unanimously — and then forgotten. 



To succeed in forming a prosperous association there must be at least 

 one man of moderate ability in the community who has the confidence 

 of the growers and who is willing to do a large amount of work in that 

 line, in season and out of season, without much compensation, though 



