40 BULLETIN 1237, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
position to insist that all fruit shipped under this label should con- 
form to a certain standard. (See Appendix, p. 64.) The work of the 
field department in promulgating and maintaining the standards of 
the advertised grades of oranges and lemons has already been dis- 
cussed. The value of such standards, although generally recognized, 
can be stated only in general terms and need not be dwelt upon here. 
The exchange has not only accomplished the standardization of the 
grade of its own product, but its influence as one of the pioneers in 
this field has been beneficial to other fruit and vegetable industries. 
IMPROVEMENT OF HANDLING PRACTICES. 
Decay in California citrus shipments was formerly a serious prob- 
lem at all times, although it was much worse at certain seasons of 
the year than at others. Annual losses from decay in 1904, when 
the United States Department of Agriculture began an investigation 
of the problem, were estimated at $500,000 to SI. 500, 000. (7) Many 
reasons were assigned for this decay. It was thought by many to 
be due to inherent weakness in the fruit, which was more apparent 
while the trees were blooming, to weather conditions, or to handling 
practices. It was generally agreed among the growers that condi- 
tions in transit were responsible for a large part of the trouble. 
Investigations made under the direction of G. Harold Powell, later 
general manager of the exchange, demonstrated that, although all of 
the generally accepted causes of decay .were contributing factors to a 
greater or less extent, the primary cause was injury to the fruit 
caused by rough handling in the groves and packing houses. An 
astonishing number of sources of injury were disclosed, and it was 
quickly made apparent that only constant vigilance on the part of 
all engaged in handling the fruit would prevent decay. The exchange 
associations, for the most part, quickly reorganized their handling 
practices in the light of these results. The organization of the indus- 
try made it possible more quickly to disseminate the results of the 
investigations and institute the necessary reforms. "Largely as a 
result of the thorough organization of the industry and the active 
cooperative spirit shown by the leading men in it, a prompt and 
general modification of methods has resulted and is still in progress," 
it was stated in the letter transmitting Mr. Powell's summary of the 
department investigations to the Secretary of Agriculture. 
The effect of these improvements has been far-reaching: and, 
although not confined to the exchange, has served, perhaps more than 
any other single factor, to place the cooperative marketing of citrus 
fruit upon a stable basis. The advertising and sales policies of the 
exchange are now based upon assurance of dependability in the prod- 
uct, and most of the activities of the field department are directed 
toward the maintenance of this dependability. 
EFFICIENT MARKETING. 
At the time the exchange was organized distribution through sala- 
ried agencies, knit into a comprehensive system covering all car-lot 
markets in the United States and Canada, was an innovation in the 
marketing of perishable products. The early growth of the exchange 
was based largely upon the efficiency of tins sales organization. In 
