A Trip to Town 



bushels of flax and the balance filled with wheat or 

 j oats, and so on ; but in such cases there is a small 

 ; deduction from tlie price realized by the shipper. 

 In shipping flax, it is needful to line the car 

 with cloth or paper, to prevent leakage, as this 

 grain runs almost like water, and a small hole 

 may result in great loss as the car proceeds 

 on its long journey. From all this it is pretty 

 evident that those who are in a position to 

 ship in car lots enjoy an advantage over those 

 dependent on the elevator companies, especially 

 ; as the latter are often so busy with wheat that 

 I they cannot take other grain at all. It often 

 happens, however, that a large farmer is so fortu- 

 nately placed, with his fields near the stations 

 j and elevators, and the grain is in such good 

 j' condition, that he can haul it straight from 

 \ the separator into the elevator. Some of the 

 elevator companies, too, are supposed to have 

 arrangements by which a grower can store his 

 grain, thus waiting for a rise in price, and this 

 may make a wonderful difference to his ultimate 

 returns, as the price may easily rise ten or twenty 

 cents per bushel before a new crop comes in ; 

 on the other hand, he may of course be a loser. 



One thing should be very apparent from all 

 this, namely, the importance of being near a 

 railroad for grain growing; and this explains the 



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