20 BULLETIN 1019, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



On busy days buyers are everywhere in evidence, passing around 

 from wagon to wagon examining the bales and frequently examining 

 the corn by sampling or " pulling " the brush. Usually each buyer 

 has some particular kind in mind that he is especially anxious to 

 obtain to fill certain orders he may have, or, if he is buying for 

 speculation, because of a known shortage of a certain kind. For 

 example, a buyer may have an order to purchase a carload of " good 

 medium-grade brush running strong to hurl " or a car of " f ancy 

 hurl " and may examine perhaps a dozen or more loads before finding 

 what he wants. If it is not on the market, he may make conserva- 

 tive bids on crops not especially desired, but which he would pur- 

 chase if he could obtain them cheaply enough. 



When a dealer desires to bid on a certain lot of broom corn, it is 

 common practice to ask the owner what offer he has had on it, and 

 the information usually is obtained. The dealer then will probably 

 make an offer. If the farmer thinks that it is as much as he will be 

 able to obtain he may sell, but more often he waits for other bids, 

 particularly if it is early in the clay or his broom corn is of especially 

 good quality. An offer made by a buyer is considered binding for 

 the day unless it is indicated that the bid shall not "stand," but 

 markets differ in this respect, the practice in anj? one market govern- 

 ing no other. If a bid is raised, it is usually by $5 a ton. 



Farmers as a rule have little idea what their broom corn will 

 bring when they haul it to market except as they are able to judge 

 from the sales being made or from what their neighbors may have 

 received. The sale price depends entirely upon what a buyer is 

 willing to give. Buyers, while better informed on conditions, usu- 

 ally have no definite information on the value of broom corn. The 

 dealers who buy on a commission basis are guided by prevailing sales 

 and by specific orders they may have to fill for manufacturers, and 

 they make bids according^. These orders frequently specify " Buy 

 at the best possible price," or " Buy at not to exceed so many dollars 

 per ton." It is quite natural in such instances that in order to hold 

 future business they purchase as cheaply as competition will allow. 

 Buyers sent out by manufacturers usually are not restricted as to 

 price, but, like the commission dealer, try to purchase as cheaply 

 as possible. It is natural to conclude, therefore, that a .glutted market 

 ripens the opportunity for dealers to beat down prices, while if there 

 are but few offerings of a dependable grade these will meet with 

 ready sale at a possible advance in price. 



The broom corn offered on a street market, like grain and other 

 farm products, is for cash, and settlement is effected in full at the 

 time of sale. Sometimes a crop may be bought and payment deferred 

 until all is delivered, but this is done only as a matter of convenience 

 between buyer and seller. 



