MARKETING HAY THROUGH TERMINAL MARKETS. 21 



usually disappointed with the returns from consignments to those 

 markets. 



TERMS OF SALE. 



The three general terms that apply to sales of hay refer particu- 

 larly to the kinds of weights and grades and are designated as " ship- 

 per's weights and grades," " destination weights and grades." and 

 " market weights and grades." These ma} 7 overlap slightly in some 

 instances and may be applied to the different methods of sale. 



Shipper's Weights and Grades. 



A sale by " shipper's weights and grades " means that the weight 

 determined and the grade assigned by the shipper are to be ac- 

 cepted by the buyer as the weight and grade of the hay. Obviously 

 this term is always applied to hay sold shipper's track and is seldom 

 used except in a modified form in any other method of sale. 



The buyer usually reserves the privilege of inspecting the hay to 

 determine whether it is of a character which he considers representa- 

 tive of the grade bought. There is no good reason why shipper's grades 

 should not be as reliable as buyer's grades, but it is argued that as 

 the shipper already knows the quality, the buyer should have an op- 

 portunity to inspect the hay before paying for it. It seems, however, 

 that the lack of uniform national grades, and of a uniform interpre- 

 tation of existing grades, is the principal cause of the lack of con- 

 fidence between the shipper and buyer relative to grades. It is prob- 

 able that the unfair practices of some shippers, which have already 

 been mentioned, have been to some degree responsible for this lack 

 of confidence. 



There is a much more general use of shipper's weights than of ship- 

 per's grades. In accordance with a practice now in rather general use, 

 the buyer accepts the shipper's weights less an amount of 1 to 3 per 

 cent, most generally 2 per cent, of that weight. This deduction is 

 supposed to represent the loss in weight caused by the handling of 

 the hay and is frequently deducted whether the actual weight as 

 found by the buyer is that much less than the shipper's weight or 

 not. Many buyers do not have weighing facilities and therefore 

 accept the shipper's weight less the 2 per cent. When the bales are 

 tagged the outturn weights are computed from the weights marked 

 upon the tags but the 2 per cent is usually deducted. These weights 

 are in effect, however, shipper's weights. 



When distributors or consumers have weighing facilities they 

 usually insist upon destination terms when buying from country 

 shippers. 



Destination Weights and Grades. 



The term " destination weights and grades " is self-explanatory 

 and leaves the determination of the weights and grades almost 



