10 BULLETIN" 266, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



but this service probably will be limited to a very small portion of 

 the total producing area of the country and can not be expected to 

 form an outlet for the great bulk of farm 'crops. Again, the develop- 

 ment of cities with their constant encroachments upon outlying 

 country districts forces production areas farther from the market 

 centers, and in the larger cities makes it practically impossible for 

 growers to deliver their produce direct to consumers. The best ex- 

 amples of successful direct deliveries by growers to consumers are 

 found in the sales of fresh fruits and vegetables in small country 

 towns and in the deliveries of milk from neighboring farms through 

 the residential sections of most of the larger cities. 



PUBLIC MARKETS. 



Public markets afford a profitable outlet for the farm products of 

 growers located within hauling distance of many large cities. These 

 markets may be either municipally or privately owned. Selling may 

 be either at wholesale or retail, although in many cases both selling 

 methods are allowed. Customarily the sites consist merely of an un- 

 covered tract set aside for this purpose, where space sufficient for the 

 grower's wagon is rented at an average charge ranging from 10 to 

 25 cents per day. The site may be improved by the erection of sheds 

 or even a specially constructed market house. In the latter instance 

 the interior is portioned into stalls which usually are rented to regular 

 wholesale or retail dealers who buy from the producers. 



The grower who sells on the public market has the advantage of 

 being able to ascertain available supplies and thus arrive at a fair 

 market price. He secures the advantage of competitive buying by a 

 large number of dealers who are attracted by a wide variety of prod- 

 ucts in plentiful supply. 



In certain places where municipalities have failed to provide 

 facilities of this character, the growers themselves have organized, 

 purchased tracts of land in the city and developed their own trading 

 place. 



Public markets are important factors in the distribution of farm 

 products in many eastern cities, and although they are not quite so 

 usual in the West, they constantly are receiving more attention. 1 



EXPRESS AND PARCEL-POST SHIPMENTS. 



The extensive use of express and parcel post by farmers in order 

 to reach consumers is of recent development, and the ultimate possi- 

 bilities of this means of distribution are as yet unknown. The post- 

 office authorities, as well as the express companies, are making efforts 

 to bring the consumer and producer together by publishing lists of 



1 See Branch, G. V. Public retail markets. In Yearbook U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1914. 



