50 BULLETIN 979, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



wholesalers and retailers in consuming sections are coincident with 

 sales by shippers in the producing sections and at the various mar- 

 kets, no further explanations will be needed concerning these trans- 

 actions. 



LOCATION AND PREFERENCES OF CONSUMING TERRITORIES. 



Taking the country as a whole, onby a small percentage of the 

 hay produced, estimated at from 15 to 20 per cent, is shipped out of 

 the county in which it is raised, thus leaving 80 to 85 per cent to be 

 consumed locally. Certain well-defined areas, however, do not pro- 

 duce sufficient hay for their requirements and these are known as 

 consuming territories. Roughly defined they are as follows : The Xew 

 England dairying sections: the mining sections of Pennsylvania. 

 Michigan, and Wisconsin : the section south of the Ohio and Potomac- 

 Rivers and east of the Mississippi: certain sections of Louisiana. 

 Texas, and New Mexico; and nonproducing sections west of the 

 Rocky Mountains. 



Timothy and light clover mixed hay are preferred and constitute 

 the bulk of the hay handled east of the Mississippi River. Alfalfa 

 and jDrairie are most extensively used west of the river. A good 

 deal of alfalfa is beginning to be used in southern and southeastern 

 sections also. 



Timothy hay in -general is preferred in markets where the demand 

 is from draymen, horse liveries, etc. Clover and alfalfa meet the 

 demand from dairymen: prairie, while used in place of timothy to 

 some extent, is most extensively used for feeding stock which is 

 being carried through the winter. While timothy, clover, alfalfa, 

 and prairie are considered the principal commercial hays, native 

 hays are marketed to some extent in the territories in which they are 

 grown. In the South, peanut hay, peavine hay, Johnson grass. 

 Bermuda, and lespedeza hay are grown and marketed locally, but 

 are not shipped to any very distant markets. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



The bulk of the hay marketed in consuming sections is bought 

 from the country shipper or shipper in terminal markets, direct or 

 through a broker, by wholesalers or retailers located in the consum- 

 ing sections. Wholesalers usually have storage for several cars of 

 hay and unload most of it upon arrival. It is then sold in whole or 

 split carloads to consumers and retailers in the same or surrounding 

 markets. Carload orders to wholesalers are usually filled if possible 

 by diverting or reconsigning hay which is en route or which has 

 been ordered by the wholesaler while the hay unloaded in the ware- 

 house is generally used for filling split-car orders, i. e.. orders for 

 one carload composed possibly of grain, feed, and hay, Split-car 



