MAKKETING OF BEEMUDA ONIONS 23 
Neither of these methods of sale is now used as much as formerly 
in the Laredo section, because more of the growers are now able to 
finance themselves. However, more than half of the upper counties 
acreage was financed by dealers in 1922. 
SALES BY CONTRACT 
The grower may contract to sell his crop to a speculator several 
months before harvest at an agreed price per crate for stock of a 
given quality, or he may wait until harvest begins and then sell the 
entire crop on similar terms. When onions are sold before harvest 
they are said to be " contracted." 
CASH SALES AT SHIPPING POINT 
1. A few of the very small growers se]l on the wagonload basis 
"cash at car door," but this method is not general. 
2. Most growers load straight carloads of their own stock. These 
are then sold to local buyers as loaded, for cash; or to distant buyers, 
usually on a bank guarantee. In the ]atter case, the buyers' bank 
guarantees the account. The onions become the property of the 
buyer when loaded in the car, on the shipper's switch. Such sales 
are generally described as "f. o. b. cash track" or "f. o. b. cash 
track to growers." The latter term is used to describe those sales 
made in carloads by growers as distinguished from dealers' sales. 
A differential sometimes exists between the two, especially if the 
individual grower is located where there is little competition between 
dealers. 
SALES THROUGH AN AGENT ON CONSIGNMENT 
1. If a car is sold through a commission house in the city it is said 
to be "sold for the account" of the growers. The commission house 
deducts from the money received for the car a percentage of the gross 
receipts for commission, the transportation charges, and other ex- 
penses, such as cartage. The balance is remitted to the grower. 
2. A grower may also sell on a brokerage or commission basis 
through a local dealer. This method is generally used when the 
dealers decline to take the risk of outright purchase, because of either 
market conditions or the condition of the stock. 
3. If the grower is a carlo t shipper, he may ship to a broker who 
will sell the onions for the grower at destination for a uniform charge 
per car. 
A grower usually sells through a broker or commission house when 
he believes the local offers are lower than he can net by assuming 
the costs and risks of transportation and market declines. 
COOPERATIVE SALES 
In 1913 and the years preceding, an association of the growers 
handled most of the Texas crop by cooperative methods, the sales 
manager of the association distributing the carloads to the country's 
markets from his office in San Antonio and selling very largely 
f. o. b. destination. After this association went out of existence 
very little cooperative selling was done for several years except in 
cases where small growers informally cooperated by assembling a 
carload to be sold in any of the customary ways. During the 1920 
and 1921 seasons cooperative associations were organized in the 
