CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS 
I89 
have united for their mutual benefit, forming' such organ- 
izations as the Long Island Cauliflower Association, and 
the Thermal Cantaloupe Growers’ Association. General 
organizations, however, are much more common, and 
some are mammoth affairs, having hundreds of members 
representing thousands of acres; others are small, having 
only a few members, although the benefits justify co- 
operation. 
241. Volume of business transacted. — The transaction*? 
of organizations like the Eastern Shore of Virginia 
Produce Exchange and the Southern Produce Company 
amount to millions of dollars annually. These great co- 
operative bodies are well known in the principal cities, 
and are a great advantage in making sales. The annual 
total shipments of a single kind of vegetable often run 
into thousands of cars. For example, a Texas association 
shipped in one year over 3,000 cars of watermelons. 
242. Capitalization ranges from a few hundred dollars 
to $100,000 or more, depending upon the methods 
adopted and the magnitude of the organization. The 
number of shares held by any one person is always lim- 
ited, and sometimes is adjusted pro rata to the number of 
acres cultivated. In some instances members are re 
quired to give bond for about $100, and a general man- 
ager is selected to conduct the business for 5 per cent 
on net sales, all office expenses and telegrams being paid 
by the manager. 
243. Management. — The management of an association 
is in the hands of a board of directors who are chosen 
because of their extensive operations or peculiar fitnes? 
for the work devolving upon them. They employ a man- 
ager, who usually gives all of his time to the business 
affairs of the association. He may work on commission, 
but the more common plan is to pay him a salary. It 
takes a keen, shrewd, alert, tactful business man to han- 
dle the business of a large organization. He must have 
