20 BULLETIN 266, IT. S. DEPABTMEXT OE AGRICULTUBE. 
of origin. One of the most common difficulties is experienced when 
a buyer orders a car subject to inspection, and, in case of a decline 
on the market before delivery is made, refuses acceptance because of 
some alleged deficiency. If a buyer wishes to refuse a car, it is not 
hard to find some defect which he can use as a plausible pretext for 
refusal. 
This matter of rejection depends entirely upon the nature of the 
implied contract. If the grower ships a car which is under grade, the 
receiver has a right to refuse it whether the market is dechning or 
advancing. When a buyer makes a purchase ' *'f . o. b. point of origin" 
he assumes all risk of loss in transit and must see to all claims for 
damage. On the other hand, if he buys ' 'f. o. b. destination" or buys 
f 'on track" at destination the shipper assumes the risk. 
In the absence of special agreement to the contrary, when commodi- 
ties are delivered to a common carrier for shipment, the title to the 
goods ordinarily passes to the purchaser when the goods are delivered 
to the carrier properly tagged and addressed. Usually, discrepancies 
may be found through which a purchaser can manage to withdraw from 
his agreement, but where a shipment has been accepted at point of 
origin it belongs to the purchaser and not to the producer. 
Another objection brought against f. o. b. sales is that they will 
not expand markets to any great extent. In order to expand a 
market the representative of the selling association or the shipper 
must have the privilege of making sales on any terms possible, pro- 
vided the prices are justified by prevailing market conditions, and 
provided sales are always made subject to confirmation by the 
shipper. 
This question of the relative advantages of sales on f. o. b. terms 
and sales ' 'on track" at destination is one over which the managers of 
the large cooperative associations in the country differ greatly. It 
has been claimed that sales on f. o. b. terms subject to inspection 
are of no more advantage than sales "on track" at destination, inas- 
much as in the majority of cases they must depend upon acceptance 
at destination. To a certain extent this is true. 
On the other hand, advocates of f. o. b. sales claim that when a 
buyer orders a car on these terms through the city representative of 
a shipping association, the buyer is really in the market for the 
supplies ordered. Consequently, when the goods are shipped, there 
is at least a prospective buyer in sight and the final sale is more 
likely to be consummated. Even though the market may decline in 
the interim, the allowance made on account of decline in price is 
usually not as great as the total drop in the market price. The 
reason for this is plain. The buyer is in the market for the com- 
modities and he is depending upon this one source to secure them. 
Although the market has dropped and he naturally hopes for certain 
