36 BULLETIN 1412, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
assistance the grower agrees to deliver all or a stated part of his 
crop to be marketed by the firm furnishing the advance. This aid 
includes both supplies and money as needed, up to a stated limit 
which depends upon the growers' needs. The amount varies 
greatly, of course, but seldom exceeds 75 or 80 per cent of the entire 
cost of production, harvesting, packing, etc. The firm supplies 
packages and in most cases either pays the labor or sends its own 
harvesting and packing crews to do the work. 
The firm retains all proceeds received from the sale of the crop 
until all advances have been paid. A brokerage is charged for all 
sales at shipping point or a commission in the case of consigned 
shipments. Most of these shipments are consigned, rolling to the 
terminal market connections of the firm making the advance. 
SHIPMENT ON JOINT ACCOUNT 
Frequently sales are made on what is known as a " joint account " 
basis. This term is commonly accepted as indicating an arrange- 
ment between a shipper and a terminal market distributor whereby 
each has some financial interest in the shipments and each con- 
tributes his knowledge of conditions, either at point of production 
or in the market, as the case may be. Profits or losses are shared 
in accordance with some stipulated proportion. The receiver 
usually advances a portion of the purchase price to the shipper 
under an agreement by which the latter draws on the receiver for 
a given amount per package at the time the car is loaded. The 
success of joint account agreements requires a thorough mutual 
understanding, as each is absolutely dependent upon the integrity 
of the other. 
AUCTION SALES 
Until recently very little lettuce was sold at auction. The de- 
livered auctions located in a number of the large markets have con- 
fined their sales largely to citrus and deciduous fruits, almost to 
the exclusion of vegetables. There is a tendency among some of these 
companies at the present time, however, to undertake the sale of 
vegetables, and some shipments of lettuce have been sold in this 
wa y- 
In 1923 two new auction companies were organized which have as 
their purpose the auctioning of car lots of fruits and vegetables by 
telegraph while the cars are still at the loading stations, in storage, 
or in transit. A substantial tonnage of lettuce has been sold by this 
method. Each company maintained salesrooms in several of the im- 
portant markets, connected by a leased telegraph wire, the sales being 
conducted simultaneously in all the salesrooms. Cars are sold intact 
instead of being broken up into smaller lots as done by the de- 
livered auctions. Each car offered is sold on the basis of its quality 
and condition as revealed by Government inspection at point of 
origin. Contents of the certificates of inspection are wired to the 
auction company each day prior to the sale. 
Brokers as a rule do not act as direct receivers but represent the 
shippers in negotiating sales to car-lot buyers. Brokers often render 
valuable assistance in preventing unjustified rejections by unscrupu- 
lous buyers, or in procuring reasonable adjustments where rejections 
