The herald., 1897-06-21
California Citrus Products
In the East
WORKINGS OF THE EXCHANGE
PACKARD TELLS HOW THE CROP
WAS HANDLED
The Exchange Brand a Guarantee
Of an Honest Pack-How
Sales Are Made

j. e. Packard, secretary of the South
ern California Fruit exchange, has just
returned from an extended business trip
to the prominent eastern commercial
centers, whittier he went in the interest
Of the great cooperative organization
of fruit growers in Southern California,
who have SO successfully solved the
problem Of how to market the citrus
fruit crop of the state. He reports
very satisfactory trip, and says that the
leading fruit merchants in the eastern
cities are well pleased with the workings
of the Fruit exchange. They appreci-
ate the reliability of its work, and are
we'll pleased with the efficiency of its
system of packing the fruit. They recog-
nize in the Exchange brand an honest
and reliable pack; that each box of fruit
Is, as rule, just what is purports to be.
Mr.. Packard is firm in the opinion that
there are but two ways to sell the fruit.
One Is by the auction plan, and the other
through eastern agents who represent
the Exchange in all the leading cities.
About thirty per cent of all the fruit
marketed by the Exchange is sold in the
auction markets along the Atlantic sea-
board. All fruit disposed Of by the Ex-
change or by commission merchants IN
New York, Boston, Baltimore and Phil
adeiphia is sold by the auction plan, and
the system gives general satisfaction.
In smaller towns and in the western
cities this plan is not feasible. Expert
ence, however, proves that the plan Of
selling the fruit fob. in California is not
satisfactory to either the seller or the
purchaser. For instance, if car is sold
here for $3.50 it will require from ten to
twelve days for the goods to reach the
purchaser. If, in the meantime, the
market price advances, the purchaser
takes the fruit, and the result is salts
factory-to him. If the market price
has declined, the purchaser finds-as an
excuse-that the fruit arrived in bad or
der, and he refuses to- take the car, and
as the seller here has no one to- represent
him there, the fruit is sold for what it
will bring in q demoralized market.
This is not satisfactory to either seller
or buyer, but more especially to the
seller
The exchange under its present sys-
tenn has a good, competent salaried rep
resentative in each of the large cities
Each agent is informed by the exchange
afs eftyh He Is also Informed by tele-
graph of the varieties of fruit, the num-
Der of boxes of each variety and the
size of the fruit in each box. He knows
just what to do. He sells the fruit t the
highest price it will bring, subject to
the approval of the exchange, and tele-
graphs the sale to the main office here.
This main office is in close telegraphic
and telephonic connection with every To-
cal exchange and the local exchanges
are in telephone communication with
their associations. In this way the
owner of the fruit can usually saw
whether the sale is satisfactory or not.
If satisfactory it is confirmed; if not the
car can be diverted to some other point
All sales of fruit are made in Califor-
nla-tne agents acting as agents only
ana tnelr acts are as rule confirmed
py the exchange before the sale is COM
pleted. The exchange system was
started on a large scale, and it took time
10 manufacture the new machine and
get the organization in good running or
der. 1t is not strange that mistakes
should have been made, but the system
IS becoming more perfect and stronger
day by day. The business of market
ing the orange crop had become firmly
settled in old grooves before the ex
change was formed A radical change
IN methods was attempted. A new or
ganization was called upon to market
couple of million dollars worth of
Truit in few months time, and all
the machinery for doing that work had
TO be created as the work progressed |
For time the work was experimental
Today the system is a success and is
stronger than ever before.
The average price of navel oranges
this season at the point of delivery has
been about $2.75 per box, and the price
of seedlings about $1.S5 per box. The
cost of marketing the crop has been 71h
cents per box which is only 4 per cent
on the seeding crop and less than per
cent on the navel crop. Commission
merchants charge from to 10 per cent
or about 20 cents a box, for navels and |
nearly II cents for seedlings. On q |
crop of 100000 boxes this saving Of |
an average of IA cents a box amounts
to the snug little sum of 1924, ,0OO The ex- |
change this season has not lost a dollar
on bad debts, which certainly reflects
credit on the management.
Florida will probably never again he
In the field with the crop it once pro-
duced No efforts are being made tn |
'ecuperate the Florida groves 10 ex-
tent that they once existed. Last sea-
son the Florida crop only amounted to
300 900 boxes and next season it is es-
imated that about 100000 boxes will be
marketed from that state. The navel
orange as grown in California has had
is reputation as first-class fruit firmly
established in the east, and nothing that
'an occur hereafter is liable to interfere
With that reputation.
AS regards lemons, good progress is
'eing made. AS rule California cured
emons can be marketed in good shane
llthough the crop gathered during
March and April Of this year did not
Keep well. and this fact injured the
tanding temporarily of our lemons in
he east.