14 BULLETIN 558, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



disposing of the shipments to local dealers. Sales to arrive or on 

 track may be made direct to buyers at terminal markets, millers, 

 retailers, or consumers, or the services of a broker may be utilized 

 in securing the attention of desirable purchasers (see fig. 2). Grain 

 may also be sold to country track buyers at near-by points, or to 

 carload jobbers in consuming territory. 



When a sale is effected through a broker, he may act either as the 

 agent of the buyer or the seller, usually, however, in the latter capac- 

 ity. A commission usually varying from one-eighth to one-half cent 

 per bushel is paid for his services. In communities where large num- 

 bers of buyers congregate it is evident that the broker, by reason of 

 his more intimate knowledge of the conditions in his particular 

 market, is often in position to secure better prices for the grain than 

 his client could possibly hope to attain. 



TERMINAL-MARKET BUYERS. 



The terminal-market buyer either purchases his supply of grain 

 from commission merchants upon the floor of the exchange or direct 

 from outside shippers, subject to the weights and inspection of his 

 market. To the shippers he usually submits to arrive or on track 

 bids by mail or telegraph after the close of each day's market. These 

 offers or bids may be accepted at any time previous to the opening 

 of the market on the following day. The country dealer soon learns 

 that his drafts usually will be met promptly by the terminal market, 

 and also, after a little experience, he knows how his weights will com- 

 pare with the terminal weights. Purchasers when trading at terminal 

 markets have similar advantages with respect to weights ; also, since 

 large quantities of grain usually are held in the elevators at terminals, 

 in most instances dealers are able to make shipments in accordance 

 with the buyer's wishes. 



DIRECT TRANSACTIONS WITH CONSUMERS. 



Numerous miUs which are located at terminal markets make their 

 purchases under conditions similar to those affecting other bivyers in 

 these markets. When mills are located at secondary points, the 

 shippers soon learn the nature of the weights to be expected from 

 them. The chief objection to the practice of selling to the mills lies 

 in their limited demand. The shipper, before he learns that his 

 grain can not be used, frequently loses the opportunity to make a 

 sale elsewhere. Direct transactions between country shippers and 

 retailers or large consumers usually are confined to those located 

 within a radius of a few hundred miles, such trade being considered 

 highly profitable by those engaged in it, as the shipper and dealer 

 divide between them the profit which otherwise would be made by 



