OUTLETS AND METHODS OF SALE FOR SHIPPERS. 6 
If a grower is contemplating a shipment of produce and knows 
of any other growers in his community who specialize in a large way 
in this commodity, he usually will find that these men are apt to be 
well posted as to the markets for this product in the different cities 
and may be able to give him valuable information. One of the best 
methods will be to get into personal touch with a reliable representa- 
tive on the market, for these distributors are willing to give reliable 
information. 
While these remarks apply to both the individual producer and 
the cooperator, the necessity for information of this nature is not 
felt so keenly by the latter, inasmuch as the finding of a suitable 
market is one of the primary functions of a cooperative association. 
The constant fluctuations in market prices make it absolutely neces- 
sary for the shipper to keep in constant touch with the markets by 
correspondence or otherwise if he expects to receive full value for his 
goods. Prices vary widely from day to day, or even in the same 
day, so that a quotation received from a market representative one 
day may not hold good for the ensuing day, still less for the ensuing 
week. 
When a grower has his shipments rolling to be sold in transit, the 
telephone or telegraph must be used if shipments are to be diverted 
from the point to which they are billed in time to take advantage of 
a rising market elsewhere. 
Before the introduction of day and night letters by the telegraph 
companies various commercial codes were employed commonly by 
large distributors. The efficiency of these codes has always been 
lessened by the liability to error and by the restrictions placed upon 
their use by the telegraph companies. The inauguration of the day 
and night letter service by these companies has made the use of 
commercial codes, to a large extent, unnecessary. Cooperation among 
producers will do much to distribute the overhead expenses of a com- 
prehensive market news service. 
Business convention always demands that telegrams to market 
representatives be prepaid by the sender, unless the message is in reply 
to one specifically requesting an answer, or including the words "wire 
collect." 
In general, it appears to be best to sell less-car-lot shipments locally, 
if possible, and where not possible, to ship to the nearest market on 
consignment. When shipping in car lots, however, it may pay the 
shipper to keep in touch with the market in several cities ; but a live, 
progressive firm, upon which the shipper can depend, is a better judge 
of markets and their conditions than can be the average absentee 
shipper. However, it should always be borne in mind that he is 
prone to be prejudiced in favor of his own market. 
