THE COMMERCIAL ASPECT OF HARDY FRUIT GROWING. 29? 
secure current expenses and a living, which in some instances is 
still further assisted by a few cheaply erected and ecorfomically 
worked glass-houses. 
Disposal of Produce. 
There are difficulties to be overcome in fruit culture which 
sometimes tax a man's knowledge and patience to the utmost, 
but in the majority of instances they rank second to the task of 
finding a profitable market for the crops when grown. The 
difficulty is in inverse proportion to the bulk of the produce — 
namely, the small crops or the early supplies of larger planta- 
tions cause the greatest perplexity to the cultivator. A co- 
operative system of marketing has been tried and found satis- 
factory in a few instances where there are numerous small 
growlers in one district. In Cambridgeshire a large fruit grower, 
who is also a salesman, collects the fruit of small holders and 
sends it to market with his own at "truck rates," charging a 
small commission on the sales of the produce. Under certain 
circumstances this plan might be extended with advantage. 
When situated within a moderate distance of a good-sized 
provincial market, a small grower has several methods of selling 
the produce at his command. He may have a stall in the market, 
which in small towns will only provide for one day a week, or in 
the large cities three days a week ; he may supply hotels, also 
local greengrocers, or he can take a shop and sell his own 
produce. The last requires careful consideration, for rents and 
rates are high in towns, and it is only advisable where there is a 
good opening for such a business ; then it may be profitable, as 
some have proved. 
Larger growers, whether devoted to fruit culture alone or 
partly to that in conjunction with market gardening, have not 
the same difficulties to contend with as the smaller men. Horses 
must be kept for the ordinary work, and these are utilised for 
the conveyance of the fruit either to market or station. Again, 
larger quantities can be forwarded at a time, thus securing lower 
railway rates, and trustworthy salesmen can be easily found in 
all the large centres, who will readily undertake to dispose of 
regular consignments of even quality. Occasionally a grower 
may act as his own salesman, but few are adapted for this branch 
of the business, and, when the cost of railway journeys with other 
