Marketing and Markets 381 



creasing appreciation of the value of forage crops; and 

 the number of fall pigs produced is increasing. The 

 effect of these influences will tend to equalize somewhat the 

 summer and winter receipts. 



Variations in the daily supply. 



A prominent feature at the large central markets is the 

 tendency for the week's shipments to accumulate and fall 

 on Mondays and Wednesdays. In 1915 the hogs arriving 

 at the Chicago yards were distributed throughout the week 

 as follows : * on Mondays, 24 per cent ; on Tuesdays, 14 ; 

 on Wednesdays, 23; on Thursdays, 19; on Fridays, 13; 

 and on Saturdays, 4. In the case of cattle, there was 

 even a greater tendency for congestion on Mondays and 

 Wednesdays. 



It is generally conceded by both buyers and commission 

 men that the market would be less erratic if shipments 

 were more uniformly distributed throughout the first five 

 working days of the week, and that there would be a large 

 saving from increased efficiency in handling the stock 

 at the yards and packing plants. From the shipper's 

 viewpoint, there is no question but that a more regular 

 supply would be advantageous. Sharp breaks in the mar- 

 ket, the evil result of glutted yards, would be less frequent 

 and a more stable market result. 



The custom of loading for the Monday and Wednesday 

 markets seems to have been due to the failure of the rail- 

 roads to provide through service for large shipments on 

 other days. The packer suffered from the same restric- 

 tions in getting the products to "his numerous distributing 

 centers and to seaboard ports. To correct the evils grow- 



1 Bur. Crop Estimates, U. S. Dept. Agr., Monthly Crop Rpt., 

 Vol. 2, 1916. 



