23 
ing. An exceedingly favorable year will increase the expected 
yield 25 per cent. On the other hand, floods, droughts, disease, or 
insect pests may reduce the expected returns to as great an extent. 
Furthermore, in connection with the possibility of controlling the 
supply, it should be remembered that farm products for the most 
part, because of their perishable nature, must be "cleaned up" each 
year. It is not easy to carry them over from season to season in 
an effort to restrict the supply going on the market during any one 
season. It is sometimes suggested that growers may leave their 
products unharvested in order to restrict supply and at the same 
time reap a higher price for the reduced supply than would have 
been received for the whole. This suggestion might appeal to the 
grower were it not for the fact that he has expended much money, 
time, and effort in bringing his product to the harvest period, and 
the loss of this expenditure for one year would in most cases burden 
the next year's crop with a loss not likely to be repaid. In fact, he 
has no assurance that next year's crop can carry its own burdens. 
There are times when crops are not harvested, but such a condition 
is due, not to the desire of the grower to restrict production, but to 
the fact that the market price will not pay harvesting and marketing 
costs. 
It should be remembered that monopoly among farmers requires 
the united action of a large number of individuals, which makes 
secrecy impossible, and hence exposes any artificial price control 
to the law and to the public. The human element presents a serious 
obstacle in any attempt to enforce the sufficient unity of action 
necessary to create monopoly power among a large number of indi- 
viduals scattered over wide areas. 
So much for the power of farmers controlling the price of agri- 
cultural products in general. Are the cranberry growers' organiza- 
tions an exception to the above principles ? 
Since the organized growers control approximately 65 per cent of 
the cranberry supply, it might be concluded on first thought that 
they are in position to control arbitrarily the price of their product. 
A brief analysis, however, will show that artificial price control is 
nearly impossible. It must be accepted as a fact that the forces 
which influence supply and demand are the forces which influence 
price. The cranberry growers, therefore, in order to control the 
price must exercise a direct influence over the forces which regulate 
the production of the berries, as well as control the forces which 
tend to govern the buying tendencies of the consumer. 
First, let us examine the supply side of the equation. In general, 
the size of the cranberry crop depends upon the number of acres in 
bearing and the yield per acre. The cooperative associations do not 
attempt to influence the number of acres devoted to cranberry 
