The Green Forest tribune., 1910-04-29
SUCCESS IN SELLING FRUIT
Immense Output of California Is Han- died Almost Wholly Through Co.,
 Operative Organizations.

The immense fruit output of Cali fornia is sold almost wholly through cooperative organizations. The lar gest of these is the California Fruit Growers Exchange, which handles about 60 per cent of the California fruit crop. The methods employed by this organization are well known, yet restatement of the principles which have done so much to build up the fruit industry of California may not be out of place in other states, writes President John A. Widtsoe of Utah Agricultural college, in Deseret Farmer During the season of 1908 the California Fruit Growers Ex- change shipped out about 24,000 car loads of fruit; during the last four years it's total losses from failure to collect or in transmission of funds have been $310. This is an extraor- dinarily small loss considering that the total amount involved during the period was about $44,000.000. Even more striking as an evidence of the value of the organization is the fact that since the formation of the CO., operative fruit organizations in 1895 the citrus fruit output of California has increased from 6,636 to 10000 car loads. A number of experiments in marketing have been carried on by the California fruit growers during the last 15 years and the California Fruit Growers Exchange, which has been in operation since 1904, embed ies the best results of this experience.
 The exchange is managed by the farmers-this is the fundamental prin- ciple. The fruit growers in any one locality, not too large, form them selves into a fruit growers associa- tion, which builds and equips a pack ing house. To this packing house all the members of the association send their fruit where it is cleaned, graded and packed for the market Each as- sociation has its own brands, which may be made popular by the use of choice fruit and careful packing. The California packing houses are models of cleanliness and modern mechanical contrivance. The oranges are spread upon tables, from which they are moved by endless bands between re- volving brushes, where each orange is thoroughly brushed. After being brushed they are carried by mechan- ical means past the sorters, who throw out all fruit that shows bIem- 1shes of any kind. From the sorting tables the oranges are graded by me chanical means and immediately the oranges are wrapped in paper carry ing the general brand of all the asso- citations and packed in boxes made by machinery in the packing house itself. According to the grade of fruit it con- tains each box bears label of the association owning the packing house. Each association makes it's own rules as to grading and packing the fruit, paying the fruit growers and any other question that may arise. There are over one hundred of such local as- sociations in the citrus fruit district of California.
 A number of contiguous local asso- citations unite to form the local ex. change, which consists ordinarily of one representative from each associa. tion. This exchange has for its pur- pose the discussion and as far as pos. sible the settlement of all local ques. tions affecting the associations of the exchange. It stands between the local associations and the general ex change. There are 13 of these local exchanges.