DISTRIBUTION OF MARKET PRODUCTS 



279 



provisions to look for supplies in the towns and farms along the 

 railroads. Many such dealers had before collected provisions by 

 wagon as far from the city as was practicable. These men could 

 now greatly extend their routes, because, having collected a wagon- 

 load, they could take it to the most convenient railway station, ship 

 it by rail to the city, and go on collecting, instead of spending a 

 day or more in delivering their load in the city. Very soon after 

 railroads were first built, many farmers began to produce more 



FIG. 226. Fattening chickens in crates at a poultry buyer's warehouse. 1 (Photo- 

 graph from the Bureau of Chemistry, United States Department of Agriculture) 



poultry and eggs and to ship them directly to the best city market 

 that they could find. As the demand for their produce was usually 

 much greater than could be supplied from their own farms, such 

 farmers often began to buy from their neighbors, thus becoming 

 middlemen as well as producers. In many cases such men would 

 after a time find it to their advantage to move their headquarters 

 to the city, and would ultimately build up a very large business. 



1 If the farmer sells his chickens without fattening, the buyer can fatten them in 

 this way and so make an extra profit. 



