MARKETING SWINE 305 



hence will not sell so well. During the summer season 

 when the weather is hot, sand makes the best material 

 for bedding. This should be thoroughly wet down to give 

 the hogs a cool place to lie. During extremely hot 

 weather, if hogs must be shipped and there is danger of 

 their being overheated, it is well to put a few cakes of 

 ice in the center of the car, which will help to keep them 

 cool. 



The greatest loss usually occurs in shipping hogs im- 

 mediately after loading and during the time the car is be- 

 ing switched. It is well to have a man with the car at 

 this time to see that they do not fight, which would occur 

 if strange hogs were put together; and that they do not 

 pile up by being frightened during switching of the car. 



SELLING HOGS ON THE MARKET. 



Hogs are usually sold on the large markets by commis- 

 sion firms who are there for the purpose. When hogs are 

 shipped they are usually consigned to commission men 

 whose business it is to sell them for the owner to the best 

 advantage, deduct their charges as well as the freight and 

 other charges, and remit the balance to the owner. Hogs 

 might sometimes be sold by the owner himself, provided 

 he accompanied the shipment to market, but he cannot do 

 this as well as a commission firm because he does not 

 know the buyers and is not familiar with general market 

 conditions. Furthermore, the commission firms are there 

 for that express purpose and consignments that are not 

 thus billed may be boycotted and the owner who tries 

 thus to avoid paying commission charges may find him- 

 self seriously handicapped. 



Very often a consignment of hogs is billed direct to the 

 packers, either by the producers in the country or by 



