The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1890-12-17

buyers have come this doubt is dispelled,
and mother year must find us all work
ing together.
SUCCESS ACHIEVED.
In the work of organizing the growers
and the dealers and in conducting these
experiments, covering period of six or
seven years, all the expense has been
borne by Manager Mann himself, the
public have only been invited to share in
profits and successes, he bearing all the
losses, working night and day, and
spending the very best years Of his life;
but he feels himself amply repaid in the
knowledge that one and all agree, that,
what seemed to them to be visionary
scheme at first, is to-day a tangible,
practical, business succes-benefting our
orange growers and the commonwealth.
SALES AT THE GROVE.
We first sought to establish s'Home
Market" in any form, as infinitely better
than consignment. Now that cOnsign-
ment is dead we wa1t the best "Home
Market"
One of the difficulties the management
has had to contend with has been that
the buyers attracted here in streams. by
the "Home Market" sales soon learned
that fruit could be had much cheaper at
the grove. This placed the fruit at the
grove in rivalry with that to be sold at
auction, and prevented the best results
being realized.
The dealers are going to buy and dis
tribute the crops; this is an established
fact. Shall we sell at the grove or at
auction? Shall each man go for himself,
selling for what he can get, or shall we
mass the fruit and let the buyers public
ly compete for 1T and get the highest
price at which any part OF the country
can use it? No grower can possibly be
posted as to the markets or the full value
of his fruit. The buyer who comes to
him is posted and will only buy in casehe
gets bargain. 1t don't work both ways.
A sale at the grove always means a good
bargain for the buyer.
AUCTION BRINGS THE BEST PRICE.
The buyer is speculatOr and must
have a large profit to cover his expenses,
which are heavy. When the grower real
ICES he has it all to pay for, he naturally
asks how he can save the heavy draught
on his legitimate profit, of which such
sales rob him? The answer comes: "Send
your fruit to the orange auction, where
all can see and bid for it, and get every
cent of it's value" If this is done by all
the growers, they have the market under
their own control and can feed it as they
choose and make their own price.
We have gained something in bringing
the buyers here, but will we not fail Of
our object to obtain full value for the
fruit if we do not adopt a uniform
method of classifying and packing, and a
system of sales which will place the fruit
incompetition for the highestprice the best
market can offer? With a4,0OO,OOOb
| crop another year, will we find buyers
here unless we do this? The dealers do
not want to buy at the grove, and are
! only induced to do it by the dispropor-
tionately low prices atWhich fruit can be
| had there. 1t involves expensive agents,
| is attended with risk and annoyance,
they take many chances as to the fruit,
| the packing, the markets, the men
| they deal with and the movements of
their competitors, GALL of which thegrow-
| er pays).
The dealer does not object to good
price if he is protected in it as he is in the
auction, where the fruit is before him and
he knows its quality, condition and rela-
tive worth; he can afford to pay more for
| fruit about which there is no uncertainty
he does not fear competition, as rival
| dealers publicly bid against him, and he
takes no chances, as his house keeps him
| advised as to the price they can afford