8 BULLETIN 1362, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
COMMODITIES SOLD AT AUCTION 
Auctions draw their supplies from both foreign and domestic 
sources, but citrus fruits from California and Florida and boxed 
apples and other deciduous fruits from the Western States consti- 
tute the great bulk of the sales. 
In addition to the main supplies, a great variety of commodities 
is sold in some markets. The following list is taken from 1923 
sales in New York City. It is not complete, but serves to give an 
idea of the wide range of products handled by the auctions in some 
of the large markets : 
Almonds. 
Cranberries. 
Mangoes. 
Pomegranates 
Apples. 
Cucumbers. 
Nectarines. 
Potatoes. 
Apricots. 
Dates. 
Olives. 
Prickly pears. 
Asparagus. 
Figs. 
Onions. 
Quinces. 
Avocados. 
Garlic. 
Oranges. 
Raisins. 
Beans 
Grapefruit. 
Peaches. 
Satsumas. 
Cabbage. 
Grapes. 
Peanuts. 
Tangerines. 
Cantaloupes. 
Kumquats. 
Pears. 
Tomatoes. 
Celery. 
Lemons. 
Peas. 
Walnuts. 
Cherries. 
Lettuce. 
Peppers. 
Watermelons. 
Chestnuts. 
Limes. 
Persimmons. 
Cider. 
Loquats. 
Pineapples. . 
Corn. 
Mandarines. 
Plums. 
The sale of foreign commodities by auction is confined largely to 
the seaboard markets, where they are disposed of locally or trans- 
ferred to rail for distribution to inland cities. A cargo of foreign 
lemons unloaded and stacked on a New York pier is shown in 
Figure 4. The principal imports sold at auction are: 
Bananas from Central and South America, West Indies. 
Grapes 3 from Spain. 
Grapefruit from West Indies. 
Lemons from Italy. 
Nuts from Italy, Spain. 
Onions from Spain. 
Oranges from West Indies. 
Pineapples from West Indies. 
REQUIREMENTS OF AN AUCTION COMMODITY 
In the past a widespread misunderstanding of the auction method 
of selling has prevailed. Some have had the impression that most 
of the products sold at auction are of poor quality, damaged, or in 
bad condition, and must be sold immediately at any price. It is 
believed, however, that this .misconception is waning rapidly. 
Everything that is merchantable finds a buyer on the auction at 
some price, but this fact does not justify the shipment of commodities 
poorly graded or packed. To sell most successfully at auction, all 
fruits and vegetables, whether of foreign or domestic origin, must 
be uniformly graded and packed in standardized containers, must be 
offered at auction in volume sufficient to attract the buying trade, 
and must appear regularly on the auction when in season. Other- 
wise there may be a scarcity of buyers in the auction room or a trade 
more or less completely supplied at private sale, as a result of which 
the auction can not be expected to secure as satisfactory returns. 
8 Quarantine measures against the Mediterranean fruit fly put into effect in 1924 bar 
the importation of grapes from Spain. 
