TWENTY-EIGHTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



159 



expect the same financial returns as he who takes the very best care of 

 his grove. The man who uses plenty of fertilizer, cultivates deep and 

 frequently, and keeps his orchard clean of scale pests which infest 

 neglected trees to the detriment of the crop and the community, is the 

 one who succeeds. He who will not take the proper care of his orchard 

 should get out of the business, in justice to his neighbors. 



After we have grown the crop we come to the important subject of 

 how to reach the consumer, and what method should be adopted. I 

 believe it to be impractical to adopt any one cast-iron rule that would 

 apply to growers, shippers, and buyers alike, because some people desire 

 to do business in one way and some in another, which is perfectly 

 proper, just so long as they do not crowd down the market, and no 

 longer. 



About seventy-five per cent of the shipments this season have gone to 

 the five principal markets, namely, New York, Boston, Chicago, Phila- 

 delphia, and Pittsburg, and have kept them in a congested state, and 

 these are the markets which make the price for the whole country. 

 Frequently thirty or forty cars would be sold, or offered for sale, in one 

 day in a single market, with one hundred cars or more in sight, await- 

 ing their turn at the next sale. Would you call this ''business"? Yes, 

 business for the middlemen; but how about the grower? 



What part of the price paid by the consumer would be a just and fair 

 proportion for the grower to receive as his part, considering that he 

 invests his capital in the grove, takes all the risks of growing the crop 

 (and these are many), with guarantee of freight and brokerage? In 

 fact, the grower assumes all of the liabilities. From the best informa- 

 tion at hand, the consumer pays an average of $5 per box, or 40 cents 

 per dozen, for fancy and choice California Navel oranges, while the 

 grower has for the past three years received about 75 cents to $1 per box 

 for the same grade. I have reference to first-class fruit, properly grown, 

 and put up by first-class packers. 



Now, judging from the above figures, would it not seem that either 

 the grower has been receiving too little or the consumer has been paying 

 too much? For the difference between 75 cents and $5 is certainly 

 more than should be required by the middleman for marketing a box 

 of oranges. 



It would appear to the grower that a more equitable division of the 

 proceeds would be to give the grower 25 per cent, or $1.25 per box; rail- 

 roads, 90 cents; packers, 50 cents; leaving $2.35 for the middlemen. I 

 am attempting to take a general average price. I know that extreme 

 cases can be cited where the grower has received as much as $10 per box 

 for oranges, but it is also true that others have received "red ink" for 

 their labors, and have been called upon to put up a considerable amount 

 of money, in addition to the fruit, in order to cover expenses. 



