MARKETING GRAIN AT COUNTRY POINTS. 91 
in his neighborhood. In the hard winter wheat area these cuts usu- 
ally conform to what is commonly known as the “export scale.” 
This scale is used in adjusting the price of off-grade wheat in New 
Orleans, Galveston, Kansas City, and other large markets in the 
Southwest. Usually it is changed each year to meet the condition 
of the crop but always fixes certain stipulated deductions for each 
pound that the test weight of the wheat is under the standard and for 
certain other variations. 
In many parts of the country dealers utilize blackboards for post- 
ing the prices paid for various grades of grain. This seems to be a 
wise practice, as the farmer is reasonably certain he is securing the 
Fig. 3.—Scoop shovelers bidding for a wagonload of wheat. 
top price the dealer is paying and the latter avoids the unpleasantness 
and loss of trade through farmers receiving, or believing that they 
receive, a lower price for their grain than do their neighbors. 
TRANSIENT AND PERMANENT “SCOOP SHOVELERS.” 
In addition to line, independent, and farmers’ elevators, there is 
another group of country grain purchasers known as “scoop shov- 
elers,” so called from the fact that they are not provided with the 
usual equipment for handling grain, but shovel it directly from the 
farmers’ wagons into the cars. These buyers may be subdivided into 
two classes, transient and permanent. Of transient scoop shovelers 
there are two kinds: The first consists of retail dealers, hverymen, 
and others from consuming sections, who visit producing territory 
occasionally to buy a car or two of grain for their own use; and, 
