6 BULLETIN 374, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
ADVANTAGE OF BUYING AND SELLING ON A DRY-MATTER BASIS. 
Buying and selling grain, flour, and cottonseed on the basis of 
their comparative intrinsic values depending on the amount of dry 
matter contained in a unit of weight is not only fair to the consumer 
of these agricultural products but also gives the producer an incen- 
tive for putting them on the market in a dry condition. 
Much of the grain and cottonseed is sold from the farm merely 
as grain or cottonseed, and no premium is paid for these products 
when delivered with a lower moisture content than the average for 
the crop. The result of buying such products from the farmer on 
this basis is that it .puts a premium on poor farming, in that it pays the 
farmer to sell as much water as possible at grain or cottonseed prices. 
When a farmer in selling to the country elevator or other buyer 
delivers grain or cottonseed which contains less moisture than the 
average for the crop, he is entitled to a price which is higher than 
the average price for the crop, because grain or cottonseed which 
tests low in moisture has a higher intrinsic value than grain or 
cottonseed which tests high in moisture. By paying the farmer 
what his products are worth on the dry-matter basis when he de- 
livers grain or cottonseed which contains a moisture content lower 
than the average for the crop, a premium is put on good farming and 
the result should be, with grain at least, that the farmer will have 
an incentive to grow an early-maturing grain which will dry out 
sufhciently on the farm to be in a marketable condition soon after 
harvesting. He will also have an incentive to store his grain and 
cottonseed on the farm in well- ventilated cribs and v^arehouscs, 
which will facilitate natural drying and at the same time protect 
these products from rain and snow and thereby prevent much of 
the deterioration from molds, fermentation, etc., that now occurs 
in many cases. 
OTHER FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED. 
The relation of the moisture and dry-matter contents to the in- 
trinsic worth of grains makes Tables II to XII, inclusive, valuable in 
applying the factor of moisture content in the fixing of grades and 
also as a basis for fixing market values. In these tables, only the 
factors of moisture and dry matter were considered in calculating 
the relative values of grain on a dry-matter basis ; but, while these 
factors are fundamental and the basis is an excellent one from which 
to figure intrinsic values, other factors and circumstances affecting 
these values must still be considered in computing market values, 
among which, for grain at least, can be mentioned: (1) The relative 
quantity of damp and therefore undesirable grain in the grain- 
producing States that have a surplus, or in territory contiguous to 
any given grain market, and the relative quantity of the market 
receipts that is upon inspection placed in each grade; (2) the well- 
