236 THE BOOK OF CORN 



party can compel its literal fulfillment by the original parties 

 thereto, and neither party can (without the consent of the 

 other) escape his obligation under and upon such contract, to 

 deliver or receive the actual property described in its provi- 

 sions. The fact that a large proportion of the contracts 

 entered into are closed at the market price, instead of by 

 actual delivery of property, argues no more against them than 

 that the present bank clearing-house system does not require 

 the passing of the currency by each bank upon each individual 

 check that is drawn in due course of general business." 



Nearly all the corn received at Chicago in a given 

 year is handled on the board of trade. The receipts of 

 corn during the calendar year 1901 were 84,136,637 

 bushels, and in 1900, the heaviest on record, 134,663,- 

 456 bushels. In 1902 the movement was smaller, 

 amounting to 50,622,907 bushels. During the past 

 forty years, which practically covers the period 

 of speculative trading in corn, Chicago received 

 in round numbers 2,500,000,000 bushels. Other lead- 

 ing primary markets include Kansas City and St Louis, 

 with a considerable quantity also received from first 

 hands each season at Cincinnati, Toledo, Detroit, 

 Milwaukee, Omaha and Minneapolis. 



Fig 56 affords a good idea of the substantial 

 character of the English grain warehouses. This ware- 

 house is close to the Alexandra docks at Liverpool 

 and is one of the largest in the United Kingdom. It 

 has five delivery subways, each of which can handle 

 eighty tons of grain an hour. It contains two hun- 

 dred and fifty bins, hexagonal in shape, each seventy- 

 five feet deep, thirty-five feet wide, with a capacity 

 of two hundred and twenty tons, a total for the ware- 

 house of two million bushels. Grain is transported 

 in ocean vessels, both in bags and in bulk. The ware- 

 house fronts the Mersey, the unloading being done 

 direct from vessel with machinery of the most perfect 

 character. 



