8 10 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



served to protect legitimate commission business. Leading com- 

 mission men in the Twin Cities testify that the law has tended 

 to increase shipments by helping them to secure the confidence 

 of their patrons. 



THE DIRECT METHOD OF EGG-MARKETING 



While by far the greater part of Minnesota's egg supply is 

 marketed according to the indirect method, described in the last 

 section, whereby it passes through the hands of one or more 

 middlemen on its way from the local community to the city re- 

 tailer, there is a considerable and constantly growing portion which 

 is being marketed by the direct method. As understood in this 

 discussion, the direct method implies shipment by any one of sev- 

 eral local agencies, including individual farmers, private companies, 

 country merchants, or co-operative associations, directly to the city 

 retailer without the aid of jobbers, wholesalers, or storage firms. 



The origin of this direct method has, in some instances, been 

 due to the initiative of certain retail firms in the large cities which 

 have gone into country towns and made definite provision for a 

 regular supply to be furnished from week to week. More often, 

 however, the initiative is to be traced to efforts on the part of 

 certain agencies in the local communities themselves. In either 

 case, it is only in comparatively recent years that this method has 

 revealed results of a kind and on a scale sufficient to attract one's 

 serious attention. Before attempting any comparisons between the 

 direct and indirect methods of egg-marketing, it will be necessary 

 to explain more fully the nature of the direct method. 



Retailers in the large cities often find it difficult to furnish their 

 customers with a sufficient supply of fresh eggs during all seasons 

 of the year. Some of the most annoying experiences encountered 

 in the retail trade have arisen in just this way. Customers insist 

 upon fresh eggs and first-class butter, and merchants understand 

 full well that continued patronage depends to a great extent upon 

 how well wants of this kind are satisfied. 



In order to insure a steady supply at all seasons of the year, 

 some retailers go into the country and make yearly contracts with 



