26 ANNUAL. REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



hard, exacting, unreiiiitting labor. A degree and range of informa- 

 tion and intelligence are demanded by agriculture which are hardly 

 equaled in any other occupation. Then there is the risk of over- 

 production and disastrously low prices. From beginning to end the 

 farmer must steer dextrously to escape perils to his profits and indeed 

 to liis capital on every hand. At last the products are started on their 

 wa}' to the consumer. The railroad, generally speaking, adds a per- 

 centage of increase to the farmer's prices that is not large. After 

 delivery by the railroad the products are stored a short time, are 

 measured into the various retail quantities, more or less small, and the 

 dealers are rid of them as soon as possible. The dealers have risks 

 that are practically small, except credit sales and such risks as grow 

 out of their trying to do an amount of business which is small as 

 compared with their number. 



PROBLEM FOR CONSUMERS AND NOT FARMERS TO REMEDY. 



After consideration of the elements of the matter, it is plain that 



the farmer is not getting an exorbitant price for his products, and that 



^ the cost of distribution from the time of delivery at destination by the 



railroad to delivery to the consumer is the feature of the problem of 



high prices which must present itself to the consumer for treatment. 



Why do not consumers buy directly from the farmers ? A distri- 

 bution of farm products in this simple way has already begun in 

 England, where cooperative organizations of farmers are selling by 

 du'ect consignment to cooperative organizations of consumers in 

 cities. 



Farmers' cooperative selling associations are numerous in this 

 country, but cooperative buying associations among the people of 

 cities and towTis are few. Aside from buying associations maintained 

 by farmers, hardly any exist in this country. It is apparent, there- 

 fore, that the consumer has much to do to work out his own salvation 

 wdth regard to the prices that he pays. Potatoes were selling last 

 spring in some places where there had been overproduction for 20 

 cents and in some places for even 9 cents per bushel at the farm, 

 while at the same time city consumers in the East were paying 50 to 

 75 cents per bushel, although there was nothing to prevent them from 

 combining to buy a carload or more of potatoes directly from the 

 grower and for delivery directly to themselves. 



POPULATION, CROP YIELDS. AND PRICES. 

 t»RODUCTION PER ACRE OVERTAKING INCREASE OF PEOPLE. 

 IMMIGRATION AND BIRTH RATE. 



The population of the United States has increased rapidly in the 

 past. Our doors have always stood open to immigrants from other 

 lands. Our ancestors had large famihes. Our numbers have 



'O'- 



