MARKET METHODS AND PROBLEMS 545 



173. PUBLIC MARKETS 1 

 BY J. W. FISHER 



Public markets afford a profitable outlet for the farm products of 

 growers located within hauling distance of many large cities. These 

 markets may be either municipally or privately owned. Selling may 

 be either at wholesale or retail, although in many cases both selling 

 methods are allowed. Customarily the sites consist merely of an 

 uncovered tract set aside for this purpose, where space sufficient for 

 the grower's wagon is rented at an average charge ranging from 10 

 to 25 cents per day. The site may be improved by the erection of 

 sheds or even a specially constructed market house. In the latter 

 instance the interior is portioned into stalls which usually are rented 

 to regular wholesale or retail dealers who buy from the producers. 



The grower who sells on the public market has the advantage of 

 being able to ascertain available supplies and thus arrive at a fair 

 market price. He secures the advantage of competitive buying by a 

 large number of dealers who are attracted by a wide variety of products 

 in plentiful supply. 



In certain places where municipalities have failed to provide 

 facilities of this character, the growers themselves have organized, 

 purchased tracts of land in the city, and developed their own trading 

 place. 



Public markets are important factors in the distribution of farm 

 products in many eastern cities, and although they are not quite so 

 usual in the West, they constantly are receiving more attention. 



E. Co-operative Sales Agencies 



174. CO-OPERATIVE SELLING OF GRAIN AND LIVE STOCK 

 IN MINNESOTA 2 



BY L. D. H. WELD 



On January i, 1914, there were practically 270 farmers' elevators 

 in Minnesota with an aggregate membership of approximately 34,500, 

 an average of 128 members to a company. One farmer out of every 

 five in the state is a member of a farmers' elevator company. The 



1 From Bulletin 266, United States Department of Agriculture, p. 10. J. H. 

 Collins and Wells A. Sherman, joint authors. 



a Adapted from "Statistics of Co-operation among Farmers in Minnesota," 

 Bulletin 146, Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Minnesota, pp. 11-18. 



