DISTRIBUTION OF MARKET PRODUCTS 



281 



other kinds of meat also entered this field and became a very im- 

 portant factor in the development of poultry culture in the West. 

 In the collection and distribution of poultry products the 

 various agencies mentioned form a great many different kinds 

 of combinations. The arrangements vary according to many dif- 

 ferent conditions. From first to last every one who handles an 

 article is trying to make all he can out of it, but most of the 



FIG. 228. A big drive of turkeys arriving at a killing house. (Photograph 

 from Bureau of Chemistry, United States Department of Agriculture) 



middlemen deal fairly both in buying and in selling. Indeed, 

 people cannot continue long in any legitimate business unless 

 they are honest. As we shall see, middlemen are in a position 

 where they are often blamed without just cause, and often have 

 to take much greater risks than either producers or consumers. 

 Losses in distribution. It has been said that the general 

 tendency is to reduce as far as possible the number of middle- 

 men concerned in the distribution of poultry products. This 

 tendency often goes too far and overreaches its purpose of 

 economy. The efforts of producers and country collectors to 



