20 PROCEEDINGS OF NINETEENTH FRUIT GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



The above uncontradicted results show that the Erie sales did not 

 realize on an average within 5 per cent of the prices realized on the 

 West Shore pier. 



As already stated, it was not my intention to bring this matter up, 

 and I have done so now only because it was raised by the letter of Mr. 

 Day. The grower, however, is not at this time specially interested in 

 the question as to whether higher prices can be obtained on the Erie 

 or on the West Shore piers. By the plan proposed, that of having an 

 outside consolidated salesroom, it makes little difference whether the 

 grower sees fit to ship over one road or the other, or over both. The 

 question before us is: "Is a consolidated auction room in the City of 

 New York desirable? If desirable, is it practical?" If Mr. Day, in 

 his communication, is right, I am wrong. This convention should favor 

 what is right, and condemn that which is wrong. 



The prime reason offered by Mr. Day why one room is not desirable 

 in New York is, that the sales must not be prolonged beyond 11:30 

 o'clock, at which time the buyers would like to go elsewhere. To begin 

 with, Mr. Day made the statement that it takes twelve minutes to auc- 

 tion a carload of fruit. I have written to the two fruit auctioneers in 

 Chicago, who are very busy men, to keep a detailed account of how long 

 it took them to sell California fruit, and here are their replies: 



Union Fruit Auction Co., ) 

 Chicago, October 22, 1895.) 



H. Weinstock, Esq., Sacramento, Cal.: 



Dear Sir: I duly received your letters of the 5th and 16th of October, and have kept a 

 record up to this morning, which I enclose in the hope that it will be of use to you. 



October 10th, sold 7 cars in 45 minutes. 



October 11th, sold 4 cars in 19 minutes. 



October 14th, sold 13 cars in SO minutes. 



October 15th, sold 7 cars in 45 minutes. 



October 16th, sold 4 cars in 25 minutes. 



October 17th, sold 7 cars in 60 minutes. 



October 18th, sold 4 cars in 25 minutes. 



October 19th, sold 5 cars in 30 minutes. 



October 21st, sold 8 cars in 45 minutes. 



October 22d, sold 4 cars in 20 minutes. 

 Or 63 cars in 394 minutes, or an average, say, of 7 minutes to a car. 



JOHN R. ADAMS. 



Chicago, October 28, 1895. 



Mr. H. Weinstock, Sacramento, Cal.: 



Dear Sir: Your favor of the 23d inst. duly to hand. I carefully note the reference to 

 Mr. Earl and consolidated auction salesroom. Our average time, up to this writing, in 

 October for selling California fruit at auction, has been seven minutes per car. This 

 would not be a fair average, however, for the season. The fruit sold was principally 

 straight cars of pears and grapes. Cars containing several varieties of fruit would take 

 a little longer time to sell. 



Very truly yours, WM. LUSKE, 



Merchants' Fruit Auction Co. 



There is a marked difference between twelve minutes and seven min- 

 utes per car; but let us, however, take nine minutes as the average. We 

 would then have a capacity, say, of about seven cars per hour, seventeen 

 cars per morning; which is more than double the daily average of cars 

 sold in New York this year. The question further arises, " Why not be- 

 gin the sales at the same hour as in Chicago?" I wrote to Mr. Goodsell, 

 one of the New York auctioneers, to see if it were not possible to begin 

 the sales in New York at 8 o'clock. Mr. Goodsell writes: 



Please note that the contention that a consolidation would prolong sales beyond 11 

 o'clock is simply childish, as, when all the fruit is brought into one salesroom, we can 



