42 BULLETIN 9T9 ; U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



claim for the loss in weight, which he forwards to the shipper from 

 whom he bought the hay. The shipper having practically guaranteed 

 the weight usually pays the claim and in turn makes a claim upon 

 the receiver or commission merchant from whom he bought the hay. 

 If full settlement has not been made with the country shipper, the 

 claim is generally allowed, and the returns made to the country ship- 

 per are upon the basis of the outturn weights. 



If full returns have been made by the commission merchant upon 

 the sale of the car at the terminal market, as is frequently the case 

 under the present methods of sale especially on plug tracks, the 

 country shipper maj r not pay the claim presented to him; he may 

 think that his weights are just as accurate as those of the ultimate 

 buyer and he may have good reasons to think so. If he will not al- 

 low the claim, he is requested to furnish an affidavit as to the cor- 

 rectness of his weights* The commission merchant or receiver then 

 presents this affidavit to the terminal market shipper, who, with an 

 affidavit as to the correctness of the weights of both the country ship- 

 per and buyer, has no other recourse than to present a claim to 

 the railroad for loss in transit. Since a physical loss frequently can 

 not be shown, the terminal market shipper usually stands the loss. 

 This loss must be added to the cost of doing business. 



One large shipper in northern Indiana estimates that the average 

 shortage on hay shipped direct to consuming sections is 800 pounds 

 per car. This loss, which at present seems to be unavoidable, has led 

 to questionable practices on the part of some shippers from terminal 

 markets. One of the most common of these is the raising of the 

 country shippers's weights 500 to 1,000 pounds and trusting to the 

 buyer's neglect to weigh the hay. The amount gained in this way 

 is used to offset the loss which may be occasioned when the hay is 

 weighed. 



The country shipper and buyer both contend that their weights 

 are correct. The middlemen must, therefore, stand the loss unless by 

 some means, fair or otherwise, he can shift it to some of the other 

 interested parties. If some means could be found for having all hay 

 weighed by a competent disinterested agency, preferably at the ter- 

 minal market, so that a certificate of weight could be furnished both 

 the shipper and buyer, most of the difficulty as to weights could be 

 eliminated. 



At the present time the grades which are to govern transactions 

 between shippers and buyers cause more controversies and disputes 

 than any other item in the terms of sale. 4 Grades have been made 

 the excuse for rejections, excessive discounts, and other claims on the 

 part of buyers. The present market practices seem to be the prin- 



1 The matter of grading is fully discussed in Bulletin No. 9S0, Inspection and Grading 

 of Hay. by II. B. McClure and G. A. Collier. 1921. 



