MARKETING LETTUCE 
33 
risks of marketing after arrival are likewise his. He maintains 
warehouse space and assembles shipments from different sources, 
thus keeping on hand adequate stocks so that the retailer is usually 
assured of fresh supplies continually in season, and is given the 
opportunity for selection of the quality, size, and quantity desired. 
He often extends credit to the retailer for short periods. 
He receives car lots and breaks these up into smaller units for 
distribution, the retailer's requirements being anywhere from 1 
crate up. He transfers the lettuce from car to warehouse, repairs 
packages damaged in transit, and displays the shipment for sale. 
RETAILER 
COUNTRY BUYER AND 
CITY WHOLESALER 
FREIGHT AND REFRIGERATION 
CRATES AND PACKING 
..♦* *♦* '* £ i* tT *+* V* 4 
Y/ SSm /A 
NET TO PRODUCER 
WASHINGTON, D.C. 
BOSTON, MASS. 
Fig. 
22. — The cost of getting the crop to the consumer exceeds materially the 
amount received by the producer 
As a rule he makes immediate settlement with the shipper at time 
of accepting the shipment. 
Because of insufficient business and lack of storage space, retailers 
can not handle enough lettuce at one time to justify buying in car 
lots direct from the shipper. Further, the quality, size, and pack of 
a given shipment might not suit the requirements of the particular 
retailer to whom it was sent, since the consumer demands made 
on stores in different cities and even in different parts of the same 
city are far from identical, and these varied requirements are not 
known to the shipper. It is not likely that direct business relations 
