D 
How Better Markets Were Secured. 
A Farmers’ Stock Company. 
ISCONTENT WITH CONDITIONS.—We have 
been reading in these columns, for some time 
past, many references to the farmer’s share of the 
consumer's dollar. With these have been suggested 
many methods whereby the producer might elimin¬ 
ate some of the intervening “silt-basins,” and in va¬ 
rious ways get a step or two nearer the consumer 
with his products, to the mutual benefit of each. 
Some of these remedies are practical and have been 
tried out and proven in real experience. Some are 
ideas which, though they look feasible, might stand 
the test and again they might be of no benefit to 
either party. The principle of “cooperation” has 
lured many of us to try that remedy as the panacea 
for all our disappointments, caused by poor returns 
and small profits from our farm produce. This 
spirit of discontent and dissatisfaction with mar¬ 
ket conditions has been growing all through our 
countryside for the last few years. Here and there 
we read of a community where some effort has been 
made to relieve the situation, and with varying 
success. 
LACK OF COMPETITION.—One of these at¬ 
tempts has been made in a town in Western New 
York where the lack of competition in the produce 
business was very apparent, for not only the busi¬ 
ness of the town in question, but also that of four 
other loading points on four different railroads, was 
practically all in the hands of one company of pro¬ 
duce dealers. This very naturally made it easy for 
those in control to regulate conditions as nearly to 
their liking as honesty and public sentiment would 
allow; an opportunity which any shrewd business 
house would embrace, and be very reluctant to re¬ 
linquish. The organization was so complete and so 
well intrenched that it would be folly for an out¬ 
sider to attempt to invade the terri¬ 
tory adjacent to these loading points, 
which embraces some of the most fer¬ 
tile and productive farming lands in 
our State. For this reason, therefore, 
we decided we must work out our own 
salvation and to accomplish this end 
nine farmers banded together to see 
how they could improve the market 
conditions for their produce, and in¬ 
cidentally to purchase their own sup¬ 
plies—coal, feed, fertilizers, seeds, 
etc. This finally evolved itself into a 
stock company incorporated under the 
laws of the State of New York to buy 
and sell anything grown or used by 
farmers, which seems quite comprehen¬ 
sive. This organization was effected 
about a year and a half ago. 
STUDYING CONDITIONS. — Pre¬ 
vious to this, those interested had spent a year or 
more in a careful study of the situation. Trying 
to find a suitable location for a building was not 
an easy task, for the company of produce dealers 
previously referred to had anticipated any such at¬ 
tempt which a would-be competitor might make to 
enter the field, and to this end had 
purchased whatever property seemed 
desirable as a location for an elevator 
on each of the two railroads passing 
through our township. However, 
where there is a will there is usually 
a way, and it certainly proved true in 
this case. For, in spite of all these 
precautions, a piece of ground was 
finally secured which, though it seemed 
almost forbidding in its original state, 
has been transformed into a most de- 
smible location, for a company of de¬ 
termined farmers, each loyal to the 
others, can work wonders with their 
teams, scrapers and men, in changing 
the contour of a piece of ground. 
STARTING THE BUSINESS.—So 
the grading and filling was accom¬ 
plished, and the site for our building 
was ready. In any such organization 
there is usually some one of the num¬ 
ber who seems to be, and therefor is. 
recognized as the leading spirit, and 
better able to take the initiative, and 
whose judgment is conceded to be of the 
safe and sane order. We were especial¬ 
ly fortunate in having one exceptionally well quali¬ 
fied to assume this responsibility, and so he was del¬ 
egated to investigate other plants, designed to handle 
a business similar to that which we were trying to 
inaugurate. This he spent some time in doing, and 
the good points in all were combined in the plans 
which were finally evolved. This general idea or 
plan was then submitted to one of the best rnill- 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
wriglits we could find, and he perfected them, with 
the result that we felt we were starting right, and 
quality and stability has been our motto, ever 
since. In the plans and specifications only the best 
of material was considered. One of the best car¬ 
4 % 
it-. ?. ^ $ 
• ‘ 4iLT 
i ij 
Co-operative Grain Elevator. Fig. 436. 
penters available was secured, and he put up a 
building which is conceded by those competent to 
judge, to be a model of its kind, in construction and 
convenience. 
THE WORKING PLANT.—Its dimensions are 
30x50 feet on the ground and 54 feet to the ridge. 
Three-year-old Heifer and Her Day-old Calf. Fig. 437. 
It has a basement, a working floor and office in 
front, with floor scales and hopper scales for weigh¬ 
ing bulk grain. Above this is the floor for the clean¬ 
ing machinery, grinder, etc. And above all are 14 
bins, each 1,000 bushels capacity, and one holding 
500 bushels. A private switch extends along one 
1155 
and improved machinery for cleaning and handling 
grain, beans, etc. A feed grinder was installed, to¬ 
gether with our own electric lighting system. Pow¬ 
er for all this is furnished by a 25 horse-power gas 
engine, located in the well-lighted basement, which 
is eight feet high under the entire building. 
A GROWING TRADE.—The amount of business 
which has come to this new company has surprised 
even the most optimistic member of the organization, 
and has astonished the whole community, especially 
some who can never get out and push a new ven¬ 
ture, that will prove a benefit to the town. But 
they are quite willing to get on and ride when once 
it is well started. The results have been more than 
satisfactory so far, in spite of the predictions of 
many, who prophesied a short life for the experi¬ 
ment. stating that the property would be for sale 
in a year or so and various other comforting (?) 
things, which only tended to make us the more 
determined to succeed. 
PRICES AND QUALITY.—A new standard of 
prices has been established. The prices for various 
crops and commodities have not always varied at 
the two competing establishments, but the keen ob¬ 
server can easily see by comparison, that the mar¬ 
ket quotations of the town are a great improvement 
over former conditions, from the producer’s stand¬ 
point. And it matters not, if both concerns have the 
same prices to quote, so long as we know we are 
getting every dollar our products are worth on the 
market, and are buying our coal, feed, fertilizer, 
seeds, etc., at the lowest possible price consistent 
with good business. And this is not all, for a 
marked difference in the quality of some of our 
supplies, coal in particular, is very apparent. That 
these achievements have been accomplished by 
means of creating competition, is conceded by those 
who give the subject any careful thought or study, 
but some people rarely investigate the principles of 
cause and effect, and only take Avhat 
comes, and give what is asked, in a 
matter of fact way, and think no 
further of it. To those in a position to 
know, there is no doubt that many 
thousands of dollars have stayed on the 
farms the past season which would have 
further enriched the produce dealers in 
this section if this farmers’ organiza¬ 
tion had not been perfected. It is al¬ 
ready apparent that we must prepare 
for a larger business than the plant 
now built can handle, and to meet this 
condition plans are now perfected to 
erect another building for the storage 
of feed, fertilizers, etc., also to be 
30x50 feet, and it will also be neces¬ 
sary to add to this some storage for 
coal, which up to this time has been 
sold directly from the car only. 
What has been accomplished in this case by a 
few farmers, organizing and working out their own 
salvation, can be done at other points, provided 
of course, that men loyally in earnest to the prin¬ 
ciple of standing together, will organize and real¬ 
ize that “United we stand, divided we fall.” Our 
experience is that of many other farm 
organizations. i. c. h. cook. 
Genesee Co., N. Y. 
W’; 
IC-C-ING POTATOES 
IN GERHANy 
Harvesting in Europe. Fig. 438. 
side of the building, and cars can be loaded by 
gravity, or unloaded into the basement and then 
elevated and spouted into any bin in the building. 
Or the cars can be unloaded directly onto the work¬ 
ing floor, which is at grade with the freight car 
floor. The equipment of the building was the next 
problem, and this, too, was undertaken only after 
a very thorough investigation of the most modern 
Fire Danger from Corn Smut. 
have had our say about the 
nuisance of “grain smuts.” 
We have seen thrashing machines at 
work near a barn sending out a cloud 
of smutty dust as black as the smoke 
from a factory chimney. It is not only 
a nuisance to work in any such filth, 
but the smut cuts down the quantity 
and quality of the grain often by 25 
per cent, or more. It is a shame to 
let such a performance go on, when it 
is entirely possible to prevent it by 
treating the seed grain. Thus far we 
have talked about the loss it occasions. 
Now comes another trouble. Through¬ 
out the West there have been many ex¬ 
plosions in thrashing machines. These 
explosions led to fire, which caused the 
destruction of much property. The 
Washington Experiment Station has 
investigated this, and finds that these 
fires result from an explosion of smut. 
This smut works in with the other dust from broken 
grain or straw, and becomes thoroughly combustible. 
Then electricity is germinated through the working 
of the thrasher, and from it the dust and smut is 
set on fire through an explosion. Flames burst out 
and a fire follows. The College finds that the dry 
smut contains about four per cent, of oil, and when 
floating in dry air it becomes very inflammable, so 
