158 HUNGARY 



certain distinct disadvantages. He was especially 

 at the mercy of any "ring" of buyers which 

 might be formed, for they knew that even if he 

 could afford to keep back his crop for a more 

 favourable market it was practically impossible 

 for a farmer located any distance from a railway 

 to hold his crop until the winter, because he 

 would not then be able to get it to the railway 

 station, owing to the state of the roads. 



To meet the position thus created, the farmers 

 in a number of districts formed co-operative 

 organizations which secured loans from the credit 

 banks for the construction of corn elevators on 

 sidings near to some conveniently-situated rail- 

 way station ; and to these elevators the farmers 

 would at once send their corn to be stored, the 

 individual lots losing their identity, but repre- 

 senting, on the whole, analogous qualities of 

 grain. By means of these elevators the avail- 

 able supplies could be held any length of time. 

 Not only was the previous difficulty of getting 

 them to the railway station in the winter obvi- 

 ated, but the ultimate collective sale meant the 

 transport of the corn on the railway in bulk, 

 thus effecting a considerable economy as com- 

 pared with what would have been paid had each 

 farmer sent off his own particular lot as a sepa- 

 rate consignment. Indeed, there is at least one 



