MARKETING GRAIN AT COUNTRY POINTS. 33 



be placed on the platform and the loaded wagon and the test weights 

 weighed together in order to determine whether the scale records 

 accurately the additional 500 or 1,000 pounds. Pitless scales are 

 likely to get out of adjustment unless they are placed on a very sub- 

 stantial foundation. 



SUPPLY OF ELEVATORS. 



The number of elevators required to handle the surplus grain of 

 a community will depend upon the volume of grain offered for sale. 

 The requisite number may depend also upon the method of market- 

 ing. If the surplus grain of a community is placed on the market in 

 large quantities during a short period of time following the harvest, 

 more elevators, or elevators of greater capacity, will be required than 

 when the surplus grain is delivered more uniformly throughout the 

 year. Also the number of elevators will depend to some extent upon 

 the ability of the railroad to furnish cars when needed. 



ECONOMIC LOSS FROM OVERBUILDING. 



In some sections of the country there are more elevators than the 

 volume of business will justify, some communities being supplied 

 with 8 or 10 houses, when 2 or 3 would be adequate. It is unfor- 

 tunate that in many places new elevators are still being added to an 

 already overcrowded field. The criterion for determining whether 

 or not additional facilities are needed should be the number of eleva- 

 tors serving a community in proportion to the volume of grain mar- 

 keted and not the number of houses at any one shipping point. The 

 erection of new houses at small stations between larger shipping 

 points necessarily reduces the contributing territory of them all. 



As stated earlier in this bulletin, one of the principal items 

 entering into the economy of operating an elevator is the volume of 

 the business transacted. As a general rule, the cost per bushel for 

 handling decreases, as the volume increases, within certain limits. 

 Therefore, as the number of houses serving a certain locality is 

 augmented, the volume of business transacted by each house dimin- 

 ishes, while the cost per bushel for handling the surplus grain of the 

 community through the local elevator is increased. 



If too many elevators serve a community bad practices are likely 

 to result. Difficulties arise regarding free storage, weights, dockage, 

 or grades, and, speculation ensuing, the financial ruin of unsuccess- 

 ful competitors is almost inevitable. If competition is too keen, 

 short weights are sometimes introduced, or speculation is resorted 

 to in an attempt to regain losses. Cases are cited where grain 

 stored for farmers has been shipped out and sold, to be followed by 



