DIRECT SALE.
Some of the produce of these farms is sold at the roadside ; and before leaving the subject, a word may be said on the subject of direct sale by producer to consumer, recently discussed here. It happens that I have come upon a good many small examples of the principle. It is only within the last year or two that the Cornish farmers have realized the advantage of selling cream in Cornwall. They begin to reap a really valuable harvest from sales that are very nearly direct. The local middleman, at worst, realizes his duty to the producer who is his neighbour. Again, quite a fair amount of produce is now sold direct at the roadside to motorists ; and in the future some of us expect to see week-end sales of this sort swell to really important proportions. Fruit, vegetables, dairy produce, and flowers all come under this head ; and perhaps eggs and poultry. Individual farmers have succeeded here and there solely by realizing the local opportunities. Near Newmarket they sell their straw at a high price and buy it back at a low price. Some Norfolk barley-growers supply local breweries that almost pledge themselves to use the local products, to the benefit of the beer as well as the farmer. Direct sales will never, perhaps, increase to the point of lessening the need and wisdom of the National Mark scheme, most fruitfully and ably conducted by the Ministry and the National Farmers' Union in co-operation ; but the ideal of decentralizing the absurdly over-centralized market becomes more conscious ; and is likely to be as beneficent a reform as the decentralization of our factories. It will be greatly promoted by a sympathetic preference on the part of con. sumers for fresh British produce'. It is the best.
Previous page
