886 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



his price to any buyer who asks. If the buyer is satisfied, he buys 

 and carts it away. This is a very slow way of selling, for the 

 buyers often go all over the market asking prices until they know 

 where they can do the best. Sometimes the merchants sell on 

 commission from the farmers ; sometimes they buy their potatoes 

 outright, either from the farmers or from dealers at the Kings 

 Cross potato market. 



When they sell on commission they generally charge a fixed 

 price for selling. For potatoes in sacks this price is 6 s. a ton 

 (2240 pounds) or 6.4 cents per 100 pounds. This includes storage 

 and handling in the shop, but not cartage, freight, or market tolls. 

 The cartage varies from 2 s. 6d. a ton to 4 s. a ton. The larger 

 merchants who have their own vans count on 2 s. 6d. a ton, but 

 if the railroad company does it, it is 4 s. a ton. The railroad 

 companies of England have their own drays to deliver freight 

 with. Some of the dealers, especially those that specialize in 

 potatoes, buy many of their potatoes in the ground and hire 

 the grower or some other man to harvest them. The profits in 

 this way are larger, but they varied so much that no significant 

 figures could be obtained in the time available. 



The price the farmer gets for his potatoes varies considerably 

 according to the distance from a market. At Biggleswade, in 

 Bedfordshire, about 40 miles from London, potatoes were 1 5 to 

 25 s. lower than the price the grocer paid at London. The cost 

 of raising and harvesting a crop is the same as around Manchester. 



