4 BULLETIN 267, IT. s. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
ters. A grower who will have one or more ears of produce to market 
should get in touch with the concern to which he expects to ship his 
goods some time before they are ready to move. Thus he may secure 
some valuable suggestions as to packing, loading, or routing the ship- 
ment, and these preliminary negotiations will pave the way to a 
better understanding of terms and the means whereby the produce 
may be handled rapidly and efficiently. In cases where it is advisable 
to divert cars in transit or where special preparations must be made 
to receive and distribute goods immediately, notification of consignee 
by prepaid telegram should be coincident with shipment. Also, when 
there is any doubt about a letter reaching the consignee before the 
car arrives it is important that the wire be used. Telegraphic noti- 
fications must make plain just what the shipper has in mind. For 
instance, a shipper in Florida may consign a car to a commission 
merchant in Kansas City, and telegraph to him as follows : 
Am to-day consigning to yon car FGE 1643S containing 330 boxes Bright and 
Fancy Bright grapefruit ; 30 boxes 36's. 100 boxes 46's, balance 54's. Routed 
via Atlantic Coast Line, Louisville & Nashville. Missouri Pacific. Handle for 
my account. Letter and bill of lading follow. 
The letter which follows should embody the following details: 
Name of commodity, date of shipment, whether shipped by freight 
or express, route, car number and initial, number of packages, size 
and type of packages, variety, and grade. 
In case the car is billed to a broker or sales agency the instruc- 
tions, whether by telegram or letter, should read. * ; Sale subject to 
confirmation by shipper," as in this way the shipper has the final 
word as to the disposition of his property. 
Inexperienced shippers may overlook the fact that all railway cars 
are designated by number and initials painted on the outside of the 
car. Thus a refrigerator car owned by the Great Northern Eailroad 
Co., No. 51023, would be known as GN 51023. Car 16438, operated 
by the Fruit Growers' Express, is designated as FGE 16-138. 
Shortly before the goods reach their destination or immediately 
after arrival the consignee is notified by the railroad. TVhen highly 
perishable goods, such as strawberries, are moving, some railroads 
receive passing reports of cars en route and notify the consignee 
by telephone several hours before the car arrives, thus giving him 
opportunity to issue any special instructions or to make arrangements 
for prompt handling and distribution of the contents on the arrival 
of the car. In handling fruits and vegetables not so perishable, the 
railroad, as a rule, notifies the consignee after the car has arrived 
and confirms this telephone notification by a mailed card, giving car 
number, initials, and contents. 
TThen no special instructions are given by the consignee many rail- 
roads place the cars on their team track soon after arrival in order 
