354 



AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



The conclusion arrived at is as follows : I can't leave my crop 

 work to haul hay, for the number of days I can work in the field 

 is very limited and I have planned all the field work which can 

 be accomplished during the available time. Hence I had better 

 sell the hay for much less and choose my own time for hauling 

 it, but to sell it all and choose my own time I must have it 

 baled and sell it to the feed man who will keep it in stock and 

 sell it to the sand man when he wants it. Thus after some 

 experience the thoughtful farm manager decides to abandon 

 the direct sale of hay, and yet many of his neighbors sell hay 

 direct and deliver it when it is wanted. Many market gardeners 

 have tried hawking their goods on the streets, or standing in the 

 market place awaiting customers. The main difficulty is that 

 the time thus spent can be used more profitably by a good 

 gardener working on his farm. The result is that the more suc- 

 cessful gardeners decide to sell their produce wholesale and 

 devote their energy to the problems of economy in production, 

 leaving the retailing of garden truck to those who are at the 

 same time retailing other things also and making a business 

 of it. 



The milk business succeeds better on the direct sale basis 

 for the reason that a line of customers can be secured who take 

 about the same amount of milk from day to day. When the 

 farmer's milk wagon starts out each morning the driver knows 

 where he is going and to whom the milk will be sold. If the 

 route is badly scattered this becomes an expensive system, 

 but for farmers living near the city there seems to be a profit. 

 One of the main difficulties in delivering milk from the farm is 

 the producing an even supply of milk for the trade. Some 

 months too much is produced; other months not enough. 

 The disposal of the surplus in the one case and the finding of 

 means of increasing the supply at another time worries the 

 farmer milkman, and in many instances makes him glad to leave 

 the distribution of milk to a man who makes that his business. 

 The larger the city and the farther the farmer has to drive in 

 order to get to his customers, the more desirable it is to introduce 

 the milk dealer, who is of course a middleman. 



