PRODUCTION, TRANSPORTATION, MARKETS 159 



one j^ear. It is useless to double the produdtion of 

 the farm unless we increase the facilities for market- 

 ing the produce, and to do this it is imperative that we 

 have good highways. In Belgium loads of farm prod- 

 uce are hauled 60 to 70 miles in competition with the 

 railroad. I^et every farmer join the good roads' move- 

 ment; then he will be able to go to market with prod- 

 uce on days when the land is too wet to work or 

 when the price is high. How many miles will $1.25 

 haul a ton of potatoes or other farm produce on a road, 

 a trolley road, a railroad, and on water ? 



$1.25 will haul a ton 5 miles on a common earth 

 road ; 12^ to 15 miles on a well-made macadam road; 

 25 miles on a trolley road ; 250 miles on a steam rail- 

 way; 1,000 miles on a steamship. 



The value of cheap steamship transportation is seen 

 in the Eastern potato trade. The prices of potatoes are 

 better sustained in the Central States than in the East- 

 ern because, although the tariff of 25 cents per bushel 

 is an ample safeguard for the producer, as soon as 

 potatoes are 50 cents per bushel, wholesale imports from 

 Europe and the West Indies are apt to prevent them 

 from going much higher. 



The South Atlantic States, from Florida to Virginia, 

 supply the early potato trade of the Eastern cities. 

 The water transportation enables them to handle large 

 quantities at low rates, and to compete with Northern 

 potatoes (old) during at least three months of the 

 year. 



Modes of Selling. — i. The Local Market. — This 

 deserv'es attention, as higher prices are received in it 

 by the producer than when shipped away. 



