t 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
hand, compete with each other in selling 
our products, thus favoring the retailer, 
practically giving us over into his power, 
as the foregoing figures demonstrate. 
Is there no way to remedy this con¬ 
dition? This is the great problem for our 
society to solve. Can we do it? Can the 
growers come directly to the consumer 
and cut out the middlemen who now are 
only agents for our undoing? 
The consumer pays enough for our pro¬ 
ducts, but we get very little of it. 
The result of my study of the question 
is, ORGANIZATION OF GROWERS SELLING 
DIRECT TO CONSUMER. 
That there will be many difficulties in 
its accomplishment, goes without saying. 
But that there are business men in our 
society to devise a plan and work out the 
details, I am certain; and when done, 
taking present conditions as a basis, I am 
sure there will be much more profit in the 
selling than in the raising. 
As I cannot be present at the meeting 
to discuss the matter with -you, I will give 
you a few of my thoughts as to a plan. 
Let every district or section organize 
and establish a common packing-house at 
the most convenient shipping point, so as 
to ship in car lots. A packing-house im¬ 
plies a competent picking and packing 
crew. 
Elect a competent man as grader and 
inspector of the fruit, either on the trees 
or as delivered at the packing-house, and 
each grower be given a credit certificate 
49 
for the number of boxes of different 
grades, or a more exact way, the number 
of pounds, and then let his fruit lose its 
identity as his special lot. 
A manager for each packing house or 
board of managers representing several 
or all, are then ready to sell f. o. b. at 
packing house. Or, having organized and 
opened a sales house or houses in places 
capable of taking—consuming a car load 
a week and upward, keep these sales 
houses supplied through telegraphic com¬ 
munication with a general head as they 
need. The details of retail distributing 
houses can certainly be worked out by 
successful business men. Each grower, 
each manager of packing-house, and of 
sales store, should be a stock owner, or 
interested financially, and partake of the 
profits. The organization could by vote 
fix starting price for fruit on the trees, 
or the proportionate percentage of the net 
proceeds at stated times. 
As it is nozv J the grower must pay the 
cost of shipment before they leave, and 
gets no money until the consignee gets 
ready to remit—from ten days to three 
months, and by drawing no money from 
the organization for the same average 
time the capital need not be large. 
I have not the time nor the capacity 
to go into all the details, but hope I have 
suggested enough to introduce the sub¬ 
ject, and certain that together, a success¬ 
ful way of benefiting ourselves and the 
consumer can be devised. 
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