176 AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION 



In addition to purchasing for its members, the asso- 

 ciation sells for them. It acts in the capacity of 

 commission agent ; and its experts, keeping in close 

 touch with the different markets, are c ff en able to 

 make much better bargains for the members than 

 they could make for themselves. In this way the 

 association sells a good deal of corn for members, some 

 of whom, perhaps, are unable to go to market, or wish 

 to be saved the trouble of so doing. In one period of 

 seven weeks the association sold for its members 2,000 

 quarters of different kinds of corn. A good deal of 

 seed is disposed of for them in like manner. Here, 

 again, is an incident that offers food for reflection : A 

 certain farmer, who is not a member, asked one of the 

 managers to dispose of some blue peas for him, saying 

 he would take 363. a quarter for them. The manager 

 sold them in London at 425. a quarter. The farmer 

 was paid 2s. a quarter over and above the price at 

 which he had been willing to sell, and even then there 

 was left for the association a profit of 6 155., which 

 (less commission) would also have gone into the 

 farmer's pocket had he been a member. On still 

 another occasion a cargo of beans was sold direct 

 to a wholesale purchaser in Scotland, instead of to 

 a local middleman, a benefit of is. to 2s. a quarter 

 being thus secured for the members concerned. 



Then, in the case of pigs, which are produced on 

 a very large scale in Suffolk, the breeders at one time 

 used to send their animals to the local markets in such 

 quantities that the supply exceeded the demand, and 

 prices would fall accordingly. The association avoids 

 this result by engaging the services of a pig expert, who 

 not only knows everything about pigs that is worth 

 knowing, but ke^ps acquainted with the condition of 

 all the leading pig-markets throughout the country, so 



