ONION SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION. 77 



For shipping purposes bags holding 100 pounds of onions are universallj'' 

 emplo.yed because they furnish protection and ventilation sufficient for 

 short hauls. They are of convenient size for marketing and cheaper 

 than crates. Several dealers have tried crates holding approximately 

 a bushel of onions. These crates cost from 15 to 16 cents apiece, and 

 much extra labor is necessary for filling and handling them. The trade 

 was unwilling to pay for the additional expense and crates were given up. 



Bags are usually furnished by the buyer. Three kinds are used by 

 Connecticut Valley shippers, as follows : — 



1. Burlap or Cotton Meal Bags. ■ — The cost of these in 1915 was 8 cents, 

 secondhand, 6 cents. Their use, however, is largely confined to the farm; 

 that is, to the moving of onions from field to storage. On account of 

 their close weave and unattractive appearance they are not suitable or 

 practical for shipping onions intended for sale in the original package. 



2. Grass Sacks, originally Coffee Sacks. — These are strong and, on 

 account of their coarse mesh which allows the onions to show through, 

 make a very attractive container. They also permit a rather free circula- 

 tion of air, and make it possible for the prospective buyer to inspect the 

 contents without opening the bag. The cost of these bags in 1915 was 

 10 to 11 cents apiece. This type of bag gives character to a shipment, 

 and is very satisfactory both to wholesaler and retailer. 



3. Woven Paper Bags. ■ — While these have the same general characteris- 

 tics as the grass bags they are cleaner looking and make a more attractive 

 package. They are made in Buffalo and Cleveland, and cost 10 cents 

 apiece. The only objection to them is their lack of strength when damp. 

 A few bruised or rotten onions in contact with the bag frequently cause 

 it to break. 



Bags are never returned directly and are, therefore, a very real expense 

 to the local dealer and to the farmer who ships his own onions. The 

 secondhand bags which are used come back from retailer to ragman, to 

 assembler, to jobber, to local dealer. 



Methods of Sale. 



A farmer either sells his onions directly from the field or holds them in 

 storage for later sale. In either case, since comparatively few sales are 

 made directly from producer to consumer, he is forced to market by 

 making use of the present machinery for wholesale distribution. 



The middlemen to or through whom growers can sell directly may be 

 summarized as follows: local country buyers, local dealers and storage 

 men, traveling buyers, brokers and commission men. They perform with 

 more or less efficiency one or more of several necessary distributing serv- 

 ices: (1) collecting, gathering or assembling lots of onions, (2) grading, 

 sorting and bagging, (3) storing for later sale, (4) transporting for long 

 or short distances, (5) making sales to other distributors or to consumers, 

 and finding buyers and sellers, (6) financing either growers or distributors 

 for short or long periods by credits or advances. 



