THE MARKETING OF FARM PRODUCTS 857 



of the peasants, keeps the prices at about the same level. Very 

 little attention seems to be paid by the buyers to the quality of 

 the butter, all peasants receiving the same price at any given 

 time all through the market. In the hour for which the selling 

 lasted the market price varied through a range of 40 centimes, 

 the prices being 1.80 to 2.20 francs per kilo. 



Packing for shipment. The butter is brought by the peasants 

 in pats varying from i to 5 kilos in weight. These are wrapped 

 by the middlemen in damp cloth or waxed paper and placed, for 

 shipment, in large wicker baskets containing straw and holding 

 about 100 kilos of butter. 



Sale by the middlemen to the grocers, etc. The middlemen 

 visit, during the week, four or five of these local markets and 

 sell in large quantities to grocers, hotels, and restaurants, in the 

 larger towns of the region. Most of the Allier butter is locally 

 consumed, though in good seasons some is shipped to Lyons and 

 other places. Practically none is sold on the market at Paris, 

 where it is considered of a very inferior quality and brings only 

 160 or 180 francs the 100 kilos. Paris is resorted to only to 

 avoid waste in the case of a very large supply. 



Case II. Sale in retail market at Moulins. At Moulins a 

 market is held in the covered market buildings on Tuesday and 

 Friday. Butter is sold to the consumers by women who are regu- 

 lar tenants, holding stalls at an average rent of about 12 francs 

 per month. They procure their supply from the producers of 

 the vicinity. The maximum retail price is 3.20 francs the kilo, 

 but the present price of 2.80 francs is considered good. 



Case III. Sale by the producers in market at Moulins. On 

 Friday the character of the market changes somewhat, as, in 

 addition to the above-mentioned retailers, there are large numbers 

 of peasant women. They bring in their own butter in baskets 

 and sell by i- or i -pound pats to the consumers. They pay 30 

 centimes for their sittings in the market. Their prices were 

 slightly higher than those received by the regular tenants, 

 probably due to the greater freshness of their butter. 



