PRODUCTION, TRANSPORTATION, MARKETS l6l 



lyOuis the wholesaler purchases and makes his profit 

 by selling to large customers and hucksters at an ad- 

 vance of lo cents per bushel over what they cost him 

 in car lots. 



In Cincinnati the rate of commission is 3 cents per 

 bushel. In Kansas City the brokerage for handling is 

 2 to 2% cents per bushel. In Richmond, Virginia, and 

 Atlanta, Georgia, if not sold by the grower, 10 per 

 cent, is the commission. In Lincoln, Nebraska, when 

 potatoes retail at 80 cents per bushel, the money is 

 divided about as follows: Retailer's share, 20 cents; 

 wholesaler's share, 10 cents; railroad freight, 18 cents; 

 seller's commission, 7 cents; net price to producer, 25 

 cents ; 69 per cent, of the cost to the consumer goes 

 to pay the transporters and distributors, and 31 per 

 cent, to the grower. At Portland, Oregon, the com- 

 mission is 5 per cent. , and the burlap sacks in which 

 the potatoes are handled cost about 5 cents each. 

 The retailers sell at an advance of 10 to 30 cents per 

 sack (100 pounds). At New York and Philadelphia 

 8 and 10 per cent, commission will find good sales- 

 men. The producer usually receives, net, between 

 25 and 65 per cent, of the retail price of potatoes. 

 Taking a number of market returns, they show tliat 

 the producer's returns are about 63 per cent, of the 

 price paid in the markets, and of this, in some cases, 

 about half is paid to the railwaj^s for transportation if 

 the goods are sent by rail, so that, then, roughly 

 speaking, the producer, transporter, and distributor 

 divide the customer's money equally. The value of a 

 local market, where the producer can sell direct to the 

 consumer, is apparent. 



