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1Gs BULLETIN 558, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
was equipped with driers, would have purchased the remainder at a 
very small reduction from the price obtained for the entire lot. If 
the dealer had kept the better corn separate he could have paid the 
farmers who marketed good corn considerably more and would not 
have been compelled to discount the poor corn very heavily. Other 
dealers were taking yellow, red, white, and white-cap corn all at the 
same price, although they were selling white and mixed corn at 3 
cents under the price of yellow. 
PURCHASE BY GRADE SUBJECT TO DOCKAGE. 
By this method the quantity of foreign matter in a sample of the 
grain is determined by the aid of screens. Settlement is then made 
on the basis of the weight and grade of clean grain. The dockage 
system of buying has this advantage over buying by grade without 
the determination of dockage; a definite deduction is made to cover 
the weight of the dirt and weed seed in the grain, rather than leaving 
it to the guess of the buyer. As with the test weight, however, errors 
are possible in ascertaining the dockage. .The method possesses the 
apparent disadvantage of not allowing the seller anything for screen- 
ings, which, in some cases, could be used advantageously for-feed- 
ing on the farm. Usually, however, the value of the foreign material 
is taken into consideration in arriving at the price paid for the grain. 
Grades for wheat established by the department under the United 
States grain standards Act are made on a dockage basis.* 
PURCHASE BY GRADE AFTER CLEANING. 
In some sections elevators are equipped with machinery which 
cleans the grain before it 1s weighed; the screenings are returned . 
to the farmer, and settlement is made for the weight and grade of 
the cleaned grain. It is a rather surprising fact that this method is 
not used more widely than it is at the present time, for while one of 
the first machines for this purpose were first installed over 20 years 
ago, the practice is still confined to a relatively small territory. On 
the whole, it would seem better for farmers either to provide them- 
selves with machinery for cleaning the grain properly on the farms 
before it is marketed or for the country elevators to adopt more 
generally the method of cleaning the grain and returning the screen- 
ings to the farmers before weighing and grading. 
DIRECT SHIPMENT BY THE PRODUCER. 
If the farmer prefers to ship his grain rather than to dispose of it 
at the local market, the conditions confronting him are similar to 
those surrounding the country elevator, except that instead of hav- 
ing fairly adequate machinery for loading the grain into cars he 
usually must shovel it from the wagons into the cars or purchase a 
portable elevator. The farmer should endeavor to ship at least a 
1U. S. Department of Agricultrue. Office of Markets and Rural Organization. Service 
and Regulatory Announcements No. 22, 1917. 
