DY BULLETIN 1860, U. S.. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
when an attempt is made to describe market transactions to some- 
one at a distance, or to one who is unfamiliar with practices pre- 
vailing at that particular market, difficulties are encountered. 
Much of this confusion arises from the fact that a certain set 
of names and trade terms are rather generally used to describe 
livestock at all markets. The meaning of these names and terms, 
however, varies between markets, between individuals on the same 
market, and frequently with the same individual on the same market 
at different times and different seasons of the year. 
As a result of this variety of definitions of terms and shifting of 
standards it has frequently happened that producers having shipped 
livestock to a certain market in the belief that prices were highest 
there have been sorely disappointed to find that prices actually were 
higher at some other market which they might have patronized. 
Livestock has frequently been forwarded from one market to another 
because the shippers believed that the second market was higher than 
the first, when subsequent events showed that just the opposite was 
the case. In most instances of this sort the difficulty has been due 
not to any intention to deceive on the part of anyone, but merely to 
the fact that the same or similar terms carried a different meaning 
on different markets and when used by different individuals. 
In view of such conditions it would seem highly desirable to have 
a complete set of terms and names with which to describe the various 
groups into which livestock is sorted at central markets and, for such 
names, definite and fixed definitions which can be understood and 
interpreted in the same way by producers, shippers, commission men, 
traders, packer buyers, or anyone else connected with the industry. 
Such an arrangement must facilitate livestock marketing and tend to 
eliminate disappointment, loss, and waste. 
Few livestock producers now depend upon a single market. The 
wise producer keeps as well posted as possible on several markets 
and ships to the one which promises the highest net return for the 
kind of stock he has to sell. Livestock is therefore a much more 
liquid commodity now than it was a few years ago, and livestock 
marketing has come to be a much more technical and scientific pro- 
cedure. Live meat animals are shipped across the continent. Sur- 
pluses or deficiencies at any point are quickly advertised over a wide 
area and as a result the stream of marketable stock flows back and 
forth, always seeking the lowest level of supplies and the highest 
level of prices. This tends toward an equilibrium and a balancing 
of supplies with demand. The maximum development of this 
stabilizing action is largely dependent on prompt transmission of 
accurate and understandable market news, and this in turn is pred- 
icated on a standard set of market class, grade, and trade terms with 
standard definitions for each. 
Standardization is a mark of progress. It is a prerequisite to 
rapid, economic, and satisfactory exchange of commodities between 
individuals, groups of individuals, and nations. It faciltates com- 
merce in many ways and broadens and tends to stabilize the market 
for any commodity to which it is applied. 
Standardization of product is largely a production matter. Stand- 
ardization of method of marketing, of packaging, and of market prac- 
tice are chiefly matters of commerce. Before commodities can move 
