MARKETING HAY THROUGH TERMINAL MARKETS. 35 



when some are found that meet their requirements they inquire the 

 prices ; or, it may be that the sellers request offers. In either event 

 the sales are made privately, but in several markets the seller is re- 

 quired by the rules of the commercial organization of which he may 

 be a member to report all sales made, together with the prices re- 

 ceived for each car. 



At Cincinnati sales at the plug tracks are made by auction, i. e., 

 each car is sold at public auction to the highest bidder. The dealer 

 to whom the car is consigned or who owns the car usually acts as 

 auctioneer; or he may request a member of the board of governors 

 of the plug yards to sell the car for him. If a receiver or com- 

 mission merchant desires to buy a car consigned to himself, the rules 

 require that a member of the board of governors shall auction the 

 car. This eliminates the practice, which in some instances is unfair 

 to the shipper, of taking a car for the receiver's account without 

 making an effort to sell it. When auctioning cars at Cincinnati, the 

 seller has the privilege of rejecting all offers and selling after the 

 close of the market at a private sale or of carrying them over for the 

 next day's market. A trackage charge of $1 per day per car is 

 charged for cars carried over and the same rules as to demurrage 

 apply as in any other city. 



At a few markets where there are no proper facilities for plugging 

 in the manner aready described, cars are sometimes " wagon 

 plugged." The hay in part of the doorway and in one end of the 

 car is loaded onto wagons. That left in the car is transferred into 

 the space made vacant by the removal of the hay onto wagons, and 

 the hay from the wagons is then loaded back into the car in the 

 opposite end from which it was taken. By this method practically 

 every bale may be seen and graded if desired. When hay is handled 

 in this manner buyers usually conclude the sale after the hay has 

 been graded either at the railroad yards or on the floor of the 

 exchange. 



The terms of plug track sales differ somewhat from those applying 

 to other methods. The hay is not sold by grade and in most markets 

 plug sales are final. The buyer has had an opportunity to examine 

 the hay and he, therefore, is not allowed any discount if it is not 

 of the quality it appeared to be when examined at the plug track. 

 The seller frequently guarantees the hay to be of uniform quality 

 and the buyer may request that the car be plugged deeper if he is 

 doubtful about the uniformity of the loading, but otherwise no claims 

 are allowed after the car has been sold. 



This system of marketing at terminal markets is quite satis- 

 factory to country shippers and commission merchants, but because 

 of the fact that unscrupulous shippers are able to place from 50 to 

 75 bales of poor quality hay in the cars with but little danger of de- 



