POTATOES 381 



Marketing. The early potatoes which are produced upon these 

 lands are usually shipped to the Northern markets in ventilated bar- 

 rels or sacks, the practice depending upon the timber supply and 

 the proximity to barrel factories. In Texas, sacks of QO-pounds or 

 9 5 -pounds capacity are almost universally used. The perishable na- 

 ture of the immature potato makes it necessary to place it upon the 

 market in such quantities only as will admit of immediate consump- 

 tion. Producers in regions where the growing of early potatoes has 

 been extensively developed appreciate this and have provided for 

 it by organizing shippers' associations, through which the crop is 

 graded, often trade-marked, and distributed chiefly in carload lots. 

 The officers of the association being in constant telegraphic com- 

 munication with the various markets are thus informed regarding 

 the most satisfactory destination for every consignment. It is the 

 purpose of these associations, however, to conduct their business 

 in such a way that the product can be sold f . o. b. (free on board) 

 shipping point instead of by consignment, and the best-organized 

 associations are usually able to do this. Some of the best-managed 

 truck exchanges are able to dispose of over 90 per cent of the total 

 product handled on an f . o. b. shipping-point basis. 



The great advantage of such a system of selling is that it enables 

 the brokers in a small city or town to buy direct from the producer 

 instead of through another city broker. It enables the consumer 

 to obtain fresh products, as they are shipped direct from the point 

 of production to the place of consumption. The plan carries other 

 benefits which are of great moment to the producer. He is enabled 

 to sell in carload lots at the shipping point, thus saving himself the 

 cost of transportation, which ranges from 7 to 1 5 per cent of the 

 gross selling price. The exchange secures a much wider distribu- 

 tion of the crop, with the result that overstocked markets are much 

 less likely than under the consignment system. The transportation 

 companies provide better service, and claims are more promptly 

 settled through the exchange than in the case of individuals. This 

 plan enables the producer to be his own salesman. It transfers the 

 distributing point from the city to the field, where it should be. It 

 brings the market to the field instead of the product to the market. 

 The exchange becomes the farmer's commission house through 

 which he secures information and over which he exercises control. 



