Commercial Disposal of the Sweet Potato 243 



isf actory means of marketing locally. Such institutions 

 when owned and operated by progressive men can often 

 be the means of remarkably developing the sweet potato 

 industry in a very short time. When sold to such con- 

 cerns, the grower can usually sell in as large quantities 

 as he desires, he assumes no risk, and does not have to 

 wait for his money. 



However, when all of these advantages have been 

 thought over, there is a dangerous tendency to yield to 

 the most convenient method at the expense of profit. 

 The grower should keep well posted on prevailing mar- 

 ket conditions all over the country and after carefully 

 calculating the relative cost, trouble and risk of selling 

 on various markets, dispose of his goods through that 

 channel which will probably give the greatest net return. 

 A farmer will sometimes continue selling on one market 

 regardless of price because of habit and his more inti- 

 mate knowledge of the specific conditions there. 



Foreign marhets. 



When sweet potatoes are marketed beyond the terri- 

 torial range possible of personal attention by the grower, 

 some third party must be entrusted with the responsi- 

 bility of their satisfactory disposal. The transporta- 

 tion lines are responsible to a certain extent for safe de- 

 livery at destination. This, however, covers only such 

 incidents as can be charged directly to the negligence of 

 the transportation company, and does not relieve the 

 shipper of errors in selection of car type and proper 

 packing. When foreign markets are patronized, the 

 potatoes are usually handled through a commission 

 agency of some kind which takes its pro-rata toll for 

 the service rendered. This commission medium may 



