MARKETING HAY THROUGH TERMINAL MARKETS. 11 



It very often happens, however, that the shipper does not receive 

 the number of cars ordered. If he has ordered four he may receive 

 two. When this occurs some of the hay intended for the other cars 

 must be loaded into those received, as it is usually impossible to 

 persuade the producer to haul the hay back to his barn and deliver 

 it at a later date. This circumstance results in loading cars of a 

 mixed quality unless all the hay of the various lots is of the same 

 quality, which is frequently not the case. Again, the lots of hay 

 delivered may be in excess, possibly 10 or 12 bales, of the capacity of 

 the car. By the terms of the sale this hay must be accepted by the 

 shipper, who, not having place to store it, places it into another car 

 being loaded at the same time, but which possibly contains hay of an 

 entirely different quality. This accounts for the few bales of clover or 

 clover mixed which receivers sometimes find in a carload of timothy. 



Some shippers who do not have regular hay warehouses have small 

 storage sheds or barns where they place the few bales of hay of 

 inferior quality or of different grade which the farmers deliver 

 with their other hay. When enough has accumulated to make a car- 

 load it is loaded and shipped to some market where it can be graded 

 and sold on its merits. 



As the marketing of hay is conducted at this time, it is part of the 

 business of the country shipper to know the quality and grades of hay 

 that are desired by buyers in the various markets, and the distant 

 buyer certainly has a right to expect the country shipper to know the 

 character of hay contained in the cars he is offering for sale. 



The function of the country shipper is to collect into shipping 

 quantities the various lots of hay which producers have to sell, and 

 to see that they are weighed correctly and classified and loaded so 

 that the quality of the hay will be as uniform as possible and of the 

 grade specified. If he does not do these things he is not rendering a 

 service commensurate with the charges exacted and should not bs 

 considered as an economical factor in the marketing of hay. 



SALES AGENCIES. 



There are a number of agencies to or through whom the country 

 shipper may sell, and the terms of sale vary as the hay is sold to dif- 

 ferent buyers, in different sections, or under different market con- 

 ditions. The four principal agencies are consumers, wholesalers and 

 distributors, track buyers, and terminal markets. These may not 

 all be available at the same time, but one or two are always in the 

 market and afford practically as, continuous a market for hay as ex- 

 ists for grain. 



Consumers. 



Sales may be made direct to the consumer. Shippers located in 

 sections tributary to large consuming markets can very conveniently 



