THE MARKETING OF FARM PRODUCTS 853 



kind on their own account and fixes the commission at 3 per cent. 

 On each basket of butter brought into the market the government 

 levies a tax of 10 centimes, called the abri tax. These abri taxes 

 are the only charges made by the government to the mandataires. 



During the early part of the morning the butter is sold by pri- 

 vate contract, but at 9.30 a.m. the sale by auction begins. The 

 baskets of butter are placed on a long table in front of the auc- 

 tioneer's stand, where they can be tasted by the prospective 

 buyers. The basket nearest the auctioneer is placed on his stand 

 and the sale begins. Contrary to the English method of auctioning, 

 the seller begins at a high price and works down. If the seller 

 knows that the buyers who are apt to buy the particular brand of 

 butter under the hammer are absent he will discontinue lowering 

 the price and put the basket aside for a better time. The buyers 

 at the auction sale are retail merchants, but wholesalers sometimes 

 buy by private contract. A triple record of each sale is kept. One 

 record goes to the creamery, one is kept by the auctioneer, and 

 one goes to the police. 



Besides the commission of 3 per cent there are several other 

 expenses connected with the selling at Paris. They are : 



Ocfroi or city tax 14.50 francs per 100 kilos 



Cartage from the station to the market . 10 francs per ton 



Unloading and weighing 1.50 francs per 100 kilos 



A bri or market tax 1 franc per 100 kilos 



If by any chance the butter is kept over night a fee of 5 cen- 

 times a basket is charged. These expenses are all charged to the 

 creamery. 



There are several butter merchants not officially connected with 

 the market who have offices in the immediate neighborhood. 

 These men sell for the same commission as the mandataires, but 

 they do not charge anything corresponding to the abri or for the 

 unloading and weighing. 



The retailers who buy the butter generally run stores that sell 

 nothing but butter, cheese, eggs, milk, etc. Sometimes they rent 

 stalls in the retail part of the Halles for 3 francs a day and sell 

 their butter there. St. Christophe butter sold for about 3.05 francs 



