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grain markets to feed the supply to the millers as it is needed, 

 and a system to deliver various grades of flour to the bakers, 

 bread to the grocers, and finally to the consumers. 



Potatoes are produced intermittently throughout the year. 

 The Florida, Louisiana, and Texas crops come on the market 

 in the early spring. They are followed by the crops from the 

 Carolinas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, the Eastern Shore of Vir- 

 ginia, New Jersey, Long Island, and Missouri. Finally, in the 

 fall, the Maine, Minnesota, and Idaho crops are harvested. 

 The same general supply situation occurs for strawberries, 

 peaches, melons, and other fruits and vegetables. 



The handling of highly perishable food products requires 

 an intricate and expensive system of assembly points, trans- 

 portation facilities, refrigeration, and the like. There must 

 be an efficient pricing system to move food through a busy 

 market before it spoils, or to call in additional food from 

 the country if the supply is short. 



Milk is a product that is produced continuously but not 

 uniformly throughout the year. Seasonally, it is not produced 

 in the quantities in which it is consumed. The same is true 

 of meats, poultry, and eggs. Storage and manufacturing, 

 aided by a sensitive price system, level the peaks and fill the 

 troughs of production. 



The middleman has not only the problem of adjusting 

 consumption to seasonal production, but also the problem of 

 converting inedible products to edible form. In its natural 

 state buckwheat is far from appetizing, but by a process of 

 milling and refining it becomes buckwheat flour ready for 

 the cook. Some products, such as potatoes and carrots, in- 

 volve little processing, while others, such as ice cream, re- 

 quire a great deal. 



Costs of distribution are high because a wide variety of 

 services is performed and because these services are per- 

 formed by the highest paid labor in the world. The food sup- 



