4:2 BI'LJLETIX 91% U. S. DEPAETVLE^T OY AGEICULTTTKE. 
claim for the loss in weight, which he forwards to the shipper from 
whom he bought the hay. The shipper having practically guaranteed 
the weight usually pays the claim and in turn makes a claim upon 
the receiver or commission merchant from whom he bought the hay. 
If full settlement has not been made with the country shipper, the 
claim is generally allowed, and the returns made to the country ship- 
per are upon the basis of the outturn weights. 
If full returns have been made by the commission merchant upon 
the sale of the car at the terminal market, as is frequently the case 
tinder the present methods of sale especially on plug tracks, the 
country shipper may not pay the claim presented to him: he may 
think that his weights are just as accurate as those of the ultimate 
buyer and he may have good reasons to think so. If he will not al- 
low the claim, he is requested to furnish an affidavit as to the cor- 
rectness of his weights. The commission merchant or receiver then 
presents this affidavit to the terminal market shipper, who. with an 
affidavit as to the correctness of the weights of both the country ship- 
per and buyer, has no other recourse than to present a claim to 
the railroad for loss in transit. Since a physical loss frequently can 
not be shown, the terminal market shipper usually stands the loss. 
This loss must be added to the cost of doing business. 
One large shipper in northern Indiana estimates that the average 
shortage on hay shipped direct to consuming sections is 800 pounds 
per car. This loss, which at present seems to be unavoidable, has led 
to questionable practices on the part of some shippers from terminal 
markets. One of the most common of these is the raising of the 
country shippers's weights 500 to 1,000 pounds and trusting to the 
buyer's neglect to weigh the hay. The amount gained in this way 
is used to offset the loss which may be occasioned when the hay is 
weighed. 
The country shipper and buyer both contend that their weights 
are correct. The middlemen must, therefore, stand the loss unless by 
some means, fair or otherwise, he can shift it to some of the other 
interested parties. If some means could be found for having all hay 
weighed by a competent disinterested agency, preferably at the ter- 
minal market, so that a certificate of weight could be furnished both 
the shipper and buyer, most of the difficulty as to weights could be 
eliminated. 
At the present time the grades which are to govern transactions 
between shippers and buyers cause more controversies and disputes 
than any other item in the terms of sale.- Grades have been made 
the excuse for rejections, excessive discounts, and other claims on the 
part of buyers. The present market practices seem to be the prin- 
* The matter of grading is fully diseu?sed in Bulletin Xo. 980, Inspection and Grading 
of Hay. by H. B. McClure and G. A. Collier. 1921. 
