PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 107 



prevailing charges. At the end of the season, after all expenses have 

 been defrayed, whatever is left over is paid back in the form of a divi- 

 dend, as previously explained. 



We consider the advices received during the year to be worth a great 

 deal. Our agents write about the markets, crops, weather, trade, etc., 

 and the same in turn is given our growers, thereby enabling them to 

 keep in close touch with the matters affecting their fruit. 



We believe in viewing cooperation broadly and as a strictly business 

 proposition. In fact, this system is putting the deciduous business in 

 California on a strictly industrial basis without any speculative features 

 attached to it. It must be obvious if the growers can not make a suc- 

 cess marketing their own product through an agency well equipped 

 and constructed on businesslike lines, there is nothing in the fruit busi- 

 ness for the grower. We have found out to our satisfaction that the 

 agency as we now have it is a success, and our growers, as a general 

 thing, are successful. Therefore, we have great faith and confidence 

 in the future of deciduous fruits from this State, and many of our 

 growers, through careful study of prices realized on certain varieties 

 and the time of shipment of other varieties, have grafted over portions 

 of their orchards so as to make them profitable for practically the 

 entire season. 



In our annual meetings we have never been afraid to take up policies 

 that we think have been wrong and thrash them out in open discussion. 

 We have endeavored not to be selfish in our ideas, and the very demo- 

 cratic way in which our meetings are handled have in themselves been 

 a great source of strength, because we obtain the combined intelligence 

 of a great number of growers who we consider are the practical fruit 

 men. In fact, our whole system resembles to a great extent that in 

 vogue by this republic. The associations, we might say, represent the 

 individual States and the exchange the Federal Government. The 

 States attend to all their own local affairs, devise their own laws, have 

 their own boards of directors, etc., and they delegate to the exchange 

 or Federal Government the handling of their foreign relations con- 

 nected with the business away from their own respective locality. The 

 associations in turn send to the board of directors their representative, 

 so that the board in turn becomes the house of representatives, and 

 the widespread interests represented are in themselves a safeguard and 

 a great source of strength to the whole institution. In fact, to say a 

 cooperative concern can not succeed is as illogical as to say this republic 

 is not a success. 



We have tried to show the benefits secured the grower by cooperating, 

 and experience has proven the following advantages : 



A marketing agency owned by the grower, thus ensuring an avenue 

 to market under the growers' complete control at all times. This in 

 itself means the danger of a monopoly controlled by others than growers 

 on fruit marketing is a thing of the past. 



The full market price returned to its members. 



The cost of marketing reduced. 



The general pack vastly improved through the advice of the Eastern 

 agents, thereby causing our fruit to command a better price. 



This exchange is growing daily, and when our advantages are better 



