14 BULLETIN 917, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTTJRE. 



tion in grade, the question can easily be settled on the spot to the 

 satisfaction of both parties to the transaction. In the " Black Belt" 

 those who do not sell as soon as the hay is baled put their hay in 

 warehouses, where it will be protected from the weather until it is 

 sold. It is easier to judge the general quality of baled hay in a ware- 

 house than of loose hay in the barn where only the hay on top can 

 be seen. 



TERMS OF SAXE BETWEEN PRODUCER AND SHIPPER. 



Terms regarding location. — When a producer offers his hay for 

 sale, the first thing the shipper wants to know is where the hay is 

 located with reference to the shipping point. Shippers who ship 

 from several points are not always able to have a representative 

 present when the hay is loaded into the car .by the producer. When 

 a car is loaded at a distant siding or town, it is rather expensive to 

 the shipper to send one of his men to that point at the time the hay 

 is to be delivered, because sometimes the man will spend half a day 

 only to find that the producer has decided not to bring the hay on 

 that day. Then, too, sometimes it comes in so slowly that the whole 

 da}^ is spent in loading a 10-ton car. 



The next thing the shipper wants to know is how the hay is stored, 

 whether in the barn or stack. Hay often remains unbaled for sev- 

 eral months after the sale has been made, and if it is stack hay it 

 may deteriorate considerably in a comparatively short time, espe- 

 cially if the stack is small or not well built or both. Shippers who 

 do not have a hay warehouse at each shipping point must necessarily 

 take many chances when buying hay to be delivered direct to the 

 car. It also frequently happens that the hay the shipper bought for 

 Xo. 1 will run very uneven in quality, and if he does not have a 

 warehouse in which to put the off-grade hay, he is obliged to place 

 several grades in a car. If the hay purchased is located so that it 

 can be delivered to a shipping-point warehouse, the shipper has a 

 chance to keep out the poor hay and load cars as desired. 



Terms regarding quality. — One of the greatest sources of trouble 

 and dispute between producer and shipper is for the shipper to take 

 the producer's word regarding the quality or grade of hay offered 

 for sale. Though it is true that' some producers know the grades of 

 hay in a general way. it is the opinion among shippers that the 

 majority of producers either do not know the market grades of hay 

 or they make deliberate misstatements when describing the quality 

 of their hay. 



It is equally true that many shippers drive hard bargains when 

 they buy hay from the producer. In other words, the producer thinks 

 it is to his interest to make it appear that his hay is better than it 

 really is, and the shipper thinks that he gains by discrediting the 



