162 



TWENTY-EIGHTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



with a rejected car, which is always sold as second-rate goods, 

 generally bringing little more than freight. Rather than do this you 

 would better by far keep the fruit in your packing-house, or better still, 

 on your trees, until you know where it is going. The dealer would 

 look ahead and provide for his market. But under the "sell delivered" 

 method, they are looking for tramp cars to buy at a bargain — and they 

 generally find plenty of them. If the railroad companies wished to do 

 the industry a great benefit they would decline to divert, except by the 

 payment of the regular tariff; and I, for one, earnestly hope to see this 

 brought about soon. 



Some dealers, for personal reasons, will be expected to be opposed to 

 this method, but I hope that, in the interest of legitimate business, the 

 foregoing thoughts may receive deliberate consideration. These plans 

 once adopted will insure a proper distribution of the crop, which all 

 must concede necessary to insure the consumption of our fruit at a fair 

 price. 



Also, keep a string on your fruit. Don't haul it to some packing- 

 house, and pass it in saying " Good-bye, Good-bye," and go home hoping 

 that you may at least get something for it. I repeat, keep a string on 

 your fruit, so that if at any time it should be improperly handled, for 

 the purpose of hammering the market or punishing some real or 

 imaginary enemy, you can prevent such a practice. Men who own 

 the fruit never hammer down the market, you can depend upon that. 

 It is always some one who has had the fruit furnished free, with a full 

 guarantee of all expenses. Don't be alarmed that the buyers won't 

 take your fruit. They are only too anxious to get full control of the 

 same, and get it rolling. Sell your fruit for cash, and as near the tree 

 as possible, and let the other fellow assume some of the liabilities. 



Growers should not fall out among themselves, and go to devouring 

 one another. We have about all we can do to keep from being devoured 

 by the other fellow. 



The only rivalry which ought to exist between growers should be to 

 see who could produce the best fruit, and the contest should be con- 

 tinued between the packers, to see who could put up the best pack. 

 Brands should become so well established that prices would be quoted 

 on brands. 



