158 THE POTATO 



been retained in the marketing of perishable prod- 

 ucts 



1. The extraordinary risks of depreciation. 



2. Insufficient capitalization of the distribution end. 



3. Absence of large-scale handling of the products. 

 There is little consolidation in marketing potatoes. 



Generally speaking, selling on commission is antiqua- 

 ted and should be abandoned, as it is the most demoral- 

 izing feature of farming. The market is more stable 

 when goods are bought and sold outright. An inter- 

 esting feature is that rural districts are doing more of 

 their own banking, so far as the financiering of the 

 grain and some other crops is concerned, and the same 

 will eventually be extended to potatoes. Cold storage 

 improves prices, preventing slumps and excessively 

 high prices, both of which are injurious. High prices 

 inevitably lead to reduced consumption. The absence 

 of public markets where consumer and producer can 

 meet is a noteworthy feature of American cities and 

 towns. Such markets have a salutary effect upon the 

 distributor and middleman wherever they exist. The 

 useless retailers are eliminated and the service of the 

 survivor is improved, and both producer and public 

 are benefited. 



One important cause of this lack of system is the 

 poor roads. Hauling is high. It costs, on an average, 

 25 cents to haul a ton of produce a mile, and in many 

 cases more. 90 per cent, of all the freight handled 

 by the railroads is brought to them on wagons; most 

 of it is farm produce. With team and man at $3.50 

 per day, the cost of hauling this freight aggregates 

 about as much as the cost of running the railroads 



