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14 BULLETIN 1019, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
then drive through the country, purchasing here and there in smal] 
lots and concentrating these purchases at some shipping point unti 
a carlot shipment can be made. They then make the shipment and 
make a draft through the bank for the cost of the corn plus their 
profit. Local bankers often furnish resident dealers with their oper- _ 
ating money. Where orders are not obtained in advance, broom corn 
is purchased, concentrated in storage, and held until prices are satis- 
factory or orders are obtained. 2 
ONE-MAN MARKETS. = 
In extremely small towns and in a few of the larger ones there is” | 
frequently but one local shipper. As in hundreds of other towns, — 
he usually handles the bulk of the mercantile business. He buysil 
everything the farmers have to sell and sells everything the farmers | 
need to buy, controls a bank or two, and, in a general way, realizes 
on nearly everything going out or coming in. He lends money on 
the crops and buys the bulk of them. When the marketing season 
is over, some farmers are satisfied but others may feel that advantage 
has been taken of them. 7 “4 
Where one buyer handles the bulk of the broom corn the market 
may be more or less monopolized. In studying these small markets _ 
it has been noted that traveling buyers on entering a market will — 
first visit the local dealer. Frequently they find it to their advantage — 
to buy, or arrange to have the corn they require purchased, on com- 
mission. This is natural, since the commission is very little if any 
in excess of what it would cost a traveling buyer to hire an automo- _ 
bile and spend several days going over territory with which he may 
not be familiar. Besides, he must bid up on the broom corn to get 
it at all, and he must see to the delivering, weighing, and shipping __ 
himself. The local buyer, knowing this, offers him a carload out _ 
of his warehouse as cheap or cheaper doa he could go out and buy 
it. With the field clear the local buyer can and does buy cheaper. 
Another method of keeping out buyers is to “bid up” on small 
crops here and there over a district. When the traveling buyer goes 
into the field -he finds the broom corn held at a much higher figure — 
than he is willing to pay ae leaves the district without frome 
LARGE MANUFACTURERS. 
The large manufacturers, as well as the large dealers, employ field 
men either on a commission or on a salary basis. With some of these + — 
large factories buying broom corn is a matter of speculation. The 
buyers retained in the field report conditions, and if it is felt that 
the conditions justify they buy a year’s supply during the busy 
marketing season. This practice involves a large outlay of money, — 
which is tied up in the business for the whole season. 
