The Florida agriculturist., 1907-11-27
Marketing Oranges.
VIM. P. Nee1d.

chance of getting "good money for
oranges that little later I felt sure
would bring ''big money" We, and by
this [ designate this section, must be-
gin to move Our crop just as soon as
the market will pay the grower what
he thinks he can afford to sell for. 1t
is little strange, but nearly all buyers
say they are in the market for early
oranges, and some have been shipping
for more than three weeks-perhaps
month; the fruit grass green, and not
eatable, except with salt, like we boys
used to eat green apples. Well, it is
a fact that in this stage they are good
liver medicine, but few people know
that if they did we could stop the sale
of pills. While speaking of this, I
want to say that grapefruit, eaten with
salt, is a wonderful tonic, and is more
appetizing and pa1atab1e to me- [ am
just saying this while the subject of
marketing green fruit is up. Let us
go on to the subject of disposing of
the truck after it is eatable for the
gastronomic satisfaction afforded
We were in hopes that this year
would see the beginning Of the end of
"harum scarum' marketing If the
growers can't or won't organize and
introduce some system into the bust
ness, we should hope to see outside
parties take it up. A syndicate
capitalized at $1,000, 900 might buy the
crop, or three-fourths of it, say, and
introduce method and system enough
to make it pay. There is from one to
two hundred per cent margin be-
tween the producer and the consumer,
and it looks as though it would
be 'big thing" to ''promote'' an
orange or a fruit, and perhaps vege-
table trust. Last spring, grapefruit
that the grower got returns at $50
to $Soo-that were reported sold for,
mean-were sold for $14.oo to the
retail man, and he sold for S21.oo.
Now, I have this ''straight," and from
two different parties-men who saw
it-were there on the spot! What do
you think of that, Mr. Grower? or
are you thinkin' animal! Don't our
oranges that we get less than one
cent for sell to the people at two and
one-half to three and one-third, at
least? Why? Let us have that "divid-
ing, system the Socialists are accused
OF standing for Dud1y w. Adams
used to say, Eyes, oh yes, only divide
with us, and We'll hit it UP fat" We
could live on a "divide," but we are
goin' backward on this kind of deal
Hubbard says, the problem of civili-
cation is to eliminate the parasite
In this he is wrong. The problem is
to maintain him. I'm right, eh? We
Just can't carry the proft-monger
only so far, and I'm in favor of drop
ping him right now," as the boys say.
The whole proposition is right here.
we must get nearer to the consumer.
The whole world is moving in that
direction. The tobacco growers, the
cotton growers, and the Western farm
erS are organizing to the end and pur-
pose OF selling direct, eliminating the
speculator-they call him gambler
who would fix the price the farmer
and producer must take for his product
Ihe worst thing of the day in the
South is that cotton exchange.' Our
people don't seem to know, nor 90 T.
tor certain, but I believe there is an
octopus. in the shape of fruit trust,
national and international We must
organize, and only then to get a fair
deal, little better deal, a chance to
live. In every country, in every age of
the world, so far as history tells the
tale, civilization CD has had this prob
lem OF eliminating the parasite to deal
with, and heretofore it has failed; per-
haps for the reason that two-thirds of