202 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 193. 



2. It is impossible to sell a crop on its merits. The tobacco is sold while 

 it is growing or even before it is planted, and no one can tell what the 

 quality of the crop will be after it is cured. It is simply a gamble; the 

 buyer gambles for the grower's crop, and he endeavors to set the price 

 sufficiently low to guarantee himself against loss. 



3. It means frequent adjustments. Fifty per cent of the 1916 crop 

 bought on contract was delivered at a discount. This statement comes 

 from dealers and packers as well as farmers. The contract says that the 

 tobacco must be delivered in good merchantable condition, free from 

 water, damage and rubbish, when instructed by the buyer. This gives 

 the buyer a large leverage, and it is comparatively easy for him to take 

 the ground that a farmer's crop contains water or rubbish, and to dock 

 him from 3 to 5 cents per pound. 



4. The farmer is tempted to take his tobacco down too soon, which 

 causes fatty stem; or he may sprinkle it to make it workable. The crop 

 has been sold and he wants the cash as soon as possible. 



5. The contract is drawn up by the buyer and does not bind liim to 

 the extent it does the farmer. The buyer is bound only to the extent 

 that he must purchase the tobacco from the farmer, but not necessarily 

 at the price agreed upon in the contract. On the other hand, the fanner 

 must sell to the buyer even though he is docked 10 cents a pound; he 

 can sell to no one else. A case occurred in 1917 where a farmer resold 

 his tobacco to another buyer because of an advance in price. The first 

 buyer brought suit and won, and it cost the farmer a large sum of money 

 to get out of the difficulty. 



6. Fifteen or twenty buyers in one locality or district at the same 

 time necessarily mean a waste of time. Instead of buyers traveling over 

 the valley for five or six months in the year, a much better plan would be 

 for them to wait until the crop is harvested, cured and sweated, and the 

 samples sent to some central seUing office in New York or Hartford, 

 where the buyers could collect and inspect the samples and leave orders 

 for the grades they desire. Such a method of sale could be accomplished 

 through a co-operative organization which would include the tobacco 

 growers of the entire Connecticut valley. 



Collusion among Buyers. 

 There is a very strong feeling among tobacco growers that the buyers 

 have a working agreement or understanding among themselves as to the 

 general average of prices to be paid. This is naturally a diflicult matter 

 to prove, but, considering their associations, dinners and frequent meet- 

 ings, there is ground for the belief of the growers. It is reported that 

 buyers first go over the tobacco territory apparently with no intention of 

 purchasing. Occasionally a man will ask if they are buying tobacco, and 

 they answer, "No; why? Have you some to sell?" If the grower says, 

 "Yes," they ask his price; if it is high, they drive on, but if low, they 

 purchase his tobacco. A few crops are thus purchased in each locality, 



