THE MARKETING OF FARM PRODUCTS 88 1 



GAGES FROM AGEN 

 By Grafton L. Wilson 



A market is held for gages early every morning at Agen and 

 in some of the other towns of the department of Lot-et-Garonne 

 during the height of the season. The fruit is brought by the 

 growers in small donkey carts and is usually packed loosely in 

 large shallow baskets. A placement tax of .10 francs is charged 

 per basket for selling on the market. The shippers buy directly 

 from the growers, and their employees take the fruit to their 

 warehouses, which are close to the market place. The prices in 

 July, 191 3, ranged from 20 to 30 francs for 50 kilos, which is the 

 unit used for fruit in this section. These shippers send repre- 

 sentatives to the markets in the towns of Lot-et-Garonne and 

 adjoining departments. 



For the English trade, which is largely supplied by this section, 

 baskets of wicker called half-sieves are used. They hold loi to 

 II kilos of gages and cost 1.25 francs apiece. As a rule, these 

 containers, which are used seven or eight times, are the property 

 of the London wholesalers who charge 10 or 20 centimes rent. 

 Another style of half-sieve, costing 40 francs the hundred, is of 

 woven light wood and makes one trip only. The cost of pack- 

 ing, exclusive of the price of the container, is 40 centimes per 

 half-sieve, which includes the straw, string, and labor. For the 

 French trade, gages are shipped in wicker baskets holding 

 25 kilos and costing 3 francs. These are used only during the 

 height of the season when prices are low. At the beginning 

 and end of the season, when gages are to be had only in small 

 quantities and at high prices, they are shipped in small, covered 

 baskets of wicker which hold 6 kilos and cost 90 centimes. 



Most of the gages go to London via Boulogne-sur-Mer. For 

 shipment, several of the Agen shippers combine and send i to 3 

 carloads at a time, as the freight is thereby reduced. Special ven- 

 tilated cars are used, and the freight is 108 francs the ton for a 

 shipment of over 50CK) kilos, and 1 17 francs the ton for shipments 

 under that amount. Five layers of sieves are placed one upon 

 the other in the cars and air is allowed to circulate freely above 



