Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-11-29

ABUNDANT ana cheap fruits, 10 the grower
| who seeks a wide and advantageous mar
| ket, and to the merchant also, whose enter
prise and tact can alone make them widely
| popular and their extensive culture profit
able.
Messrs. Vessels & Co., importers of ba
nanas and oranges, approve of sales of frui
at auction, provided the bulk of such frui
is disposed of in that way, but think wher,
the smaller portion of such fruit is Offered
at auction and the balance is in the hand
of the commission men, the probability il
that prices will be higher outside of thu
auction-room. For this reason the frui
from the Mediterranean and the larger
portion of that from the West Indies i:
disposed of at auction, On account of al
receivers selling it there. They do not be
lieve the sale of foreign oranges at auction
can be contrasted with that of Florida anC
California.
The only markets in which foreign fruit
is sold are New York, Boston, Philadelphia
and Baltimore, and at times New Orleans
The major part of such fruit is sold in
New York. The entire country is obliged
to buy foreign fruit in New York or one o.
the other seaboard cities. In this instance
all the country buys in at most, five cities
and in greater proportion in our own city
With Florida and California it is differ
ent, as by consigning to every possible
point of consumption in the country, the
! demand at auction sale for such fruit in
this and other cities is curtailed Just tC
such extent as the shipments to interior
points increase or decrease.
James Williamson, of the house o.
Hills Bros. d Co., believes it to be tor the
best interests of all concerned, that domes
tic fruits be all sold at auction, instead o.
being placed in the hands of general pro
duce commission dealers, who, he says
have little or no knowledge of the needs OF
the trade.
E. Ruhlman, of the fruit firm of P. Ruhl
| man & Co., believes that '' eventually the
| bulk of domestic fruits will be sold at auc
| ton, but the time is not yet ripe for it. In
order to make that plan success, facilities
here must be increased; receivers mus
control steamers and have better dock facll
tiles. Fruit must not be dumped on the
| dock regardless of weather Me literranear
| steamers do not discharge in severe weather
Their docks are large and commodious, anC
permit fruit to be properly exposed for sale
| Southern steamers have no such facilities
nor has the auction-house proper con
| veniences and room to show large quaint
| ties of domestic fruit. People are afraid t.
| buy at auction. If they want good fruit
| which they can rely on, they come to u.
fruit merchants, and they always will.
will take five years of auction sales for buy
| ers to learn brands. Probably the best dis
position that can be made both of Florida
and California fruits, will be to send then
10 reliable fruit houses. They can protec
it intelligently, hold it, if it will keep, upor
| rising market, etc"
+. b. Chase says l believe Florida anC
-: u
| a few fruit houses in the various large
cities, which will distribute it. 1t is grow,
| ing interest and must shape itself on trial
l think both plans will be pursued until
| experience proves which is best
James NJ. Jackson fayors auction sales as
best for California oranges of inferior
| grades; better qualities will bring more in
private hands. He thinks cost of transpor.
tation and the competition of foreign fruits
| will always prevent large sales of Califor.
| mia oranges in this market.
f. f. Cosgrove. of the firm of +. A. Cos
grove & Son, dealers in Florida oranges
etc says: Frequent letters from our Florida
correspondent state that our returns are
from 10 to 20 per cent. higher than auction
sales of the same goods. We think il
will tend largely to increase consumption il
growers and shippers will discriminate and
send their oranges only to regular fruit
houses. Some of the general commission
houses, although perfectly reliable, have
little or no knowledge of the trade in Flor
ida oranges, and their returns are fire.
quently unsatisfactory and many smaller
houses, who are honest and do legitimate
trade, having less capital, are de5arred from
equal advantages at the auction house, and
thus cannot compete with the larger houses,
but their trade in the aggregate is very inn
portant to the industry"
Mr.. Banks, of the fruit-house of A. NJ.
Banks & Son, favors sending entire domes-
tic crops to auction, so that buyers can then
compete for good marks and good quality
At present commission houses lacking IA
cilities cut prices to dispose of fruit, and
sharp buyers quote them to depress the
market.
f. S. MAYNARD, fruit dealer, thinks good
fruits will bring more sold by commission
dealers. and poor fruit should be sent to
auction.
D. Wegman, for thirty-two years fruit
dealer in New York, favors the sending OF
fruit to auction in order to establish price
for it. Good fruit will then bring a good
price, and poor fruit all it is worth.
Charles Parsons & Sons believe that the
plan of auction sales is best for all con-
l.
thus be sold this season than in any previ-
Gus year.
J. Cromwell says, in his opinion, as the
, result of twenty years experience in the
fruit trade, that it will be vastly more to
the interest OF fruit-growers of both Florida
and California to send their product to re-
sponsible commission houses here, as he
thinks returns made by the latter will be
in the future, as they have been in the past
more satisfactory than by any other dispo-
| sition which can be made of them. =
have this season handled fifty carloads Of
| California grapes, and do not believe that
at auction these grapes would have netted
two-thirds the prices l have been able to
realize for my consignees. l think next
year can handle double the quantity al
satisfactory prices. 1t now costs So per box
to bring them here from California II
they could be transported for 81 box there
would be no end to the demand for them.
The same conditions will also apply to
other fruits. Transportation companies
get the lions share ali the time"
Mr.. Merritt, of the Merritt Fruit Com
pany, does not believe in auction sales. He
AYERS that in bis experience of over twenty
years in handling fruits, he has been able
to realize from 20 to 40 per cent above auc-
ton prices.
Lyon Bros, extensive fruit and grape
dealers, do not solicit general fruit consign-
ments, but in oranges act only as agents for
certain groves. They do not believe any
combination can be formed TO control ship
ments, whether 10 auction OF individuals.
They say the trade will, in time, regulate
itself ike the trade in apples.
Maxfield &, Co., formerly agents of the
Florida Fruit Exchange, believe that indis-
criminate shipments demoralize the
market, and that it is only a matter OF
time when all the Florida fruit will go to
auction. In a few years the Florida or
ange crop will, barring accidents, be TO-
G0o,000 boxes yearly. There must be a
mutual and systematic plan for selling it.
Florida and California fruits will soon
drive out the foreign product and find a
large ssle in the London market"