SHIPMENTS AND DISTRIBUTION OF TOMATOES. 5 
quality, and price of table stock, when the supplies are locally 
obtained, are much modified by the presence of canneries. When 
prices warrant it on account of small crop or poor transportation 
facilities from other regions a considerable amount of the crop ordi- 
narily going to canneries may be placed upon the market fresh, while 
on the other hand a plentiful supply will cause very much larger 
quantities to be offered to the canneries. There are certain localities 
where the climatic conditions are such that cannery stock can be 
raised profitably, but where under ordinary conditions it is not 
profitable to produce tomatoes to ship fresh for table use. This is 
sometimes due to the long distance to market and the small local 
consuming population. A careful investigation of the cannery situa- 
tion in reference to this crop undoubtedly will aid very much in a 
clear understanding of the whole tomato marketing situation. 
The effort has been made to separate all figures for tomatoes used 
for canning stock and include in these tabulations only those shipped 
for table use. It is very difficult to distinguish accurately between 
shipments to market and shipments to canneries from the records of 
carriers in many sections. The tabulation on page 7 shows a total 
of 11,995 carloads of tomatoes shipped for table use last year and it 
has been estimated that a somewhat greater number is grown for 
canneries, catsup factories, etc. The figures of the National Can- 
ners' Association show that 15,222,000 cases of tomatoes (No. 3 
size, 24 cans to the case) were packed during the 1914 season. It is 
possible that a few hundred cars included in the following tabula- 
tion were so used. On this account there may be slight errors in 
the figures for some sections. 
The fine of demarcation between the regions where the production 
is principally for table stock and those regions where the crop is 
grown both for local consumption and for canning probably would 
pass east and west across the United States through the lower Ohio 
Valley, and through southern Virginia to Norfolk, the region to the 
south of this imaginary line specializing in table stock in car lots. 
COMMERCIAL SUPPLY OF TABLE TOMATOES. 
The total reported shipments of table stock for 1914 were 11,995 
cars, nearly one-half of the entire crop being shipped from the 
State of Florida, which is practically without competition so far as 
the production of tomatoes for table use is concerned, as the season 
there is so early that there are few other districts shipping when the 
Florida product is put on the market. The States next in impor- 
tance are Mississippi, New Jersey, and Texas, each shipping from 
1,100 to 1,500 cars. Ohio and California ship approximately 400 
cars each; Tennessee, 300; Illinois-, 200; and Indiana, 125. There 
are no other States reported as having shipments reaching 100 cars. 
