Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1876-06-23
Market Fairs.


the sale Of particular farm products
has long been in vogue in Europe,
and especially in England, and in this
country it has been acted upon for
the sale of cattle and horses; and, SO
far as the sale of Short-horns is con-
cerned, this trade has grown into one
of vast money value. 1t might very
well be extended to the sale OF dairy
products and wool, and might easily
be extended to the sale of the cereals,
to be sold by sample. But, in this
case, the farmer should be careful
that the sample be exactly equal with
the grade to be delivered, else he
would be liable to action for swlnd-
ling. This, however, might be easily
managed IL these days, when grain is
so exactly graded by law. If grain
did not come up to the grade called
for, it might take lower grade, by
agreement, and so all trouble would
be avoided. In England the regular
exhibition and sale Of products at
markets and fairs for barter and sale
have given place, SO far as live stock
is concerned, to the sale by auction,
as is followed here in our cattle sales,
but sometimes to be started at an up
set price or at reserve bid. This
system of auction sales is extending
there to other farm property as well
as stock, and we see no reason why
it might not be followed here with
equal profit.
With stock of all kinds, dairy pro
ducts, wool and the cereals, we think
the plan might be made to work adj
mirably. 1t certainly would come
pretty near to true cooperation, thus
bringing the producer and consumer
at least one step nearer than they now
are. In the end, if this plan became
general, it might induce eastern buy
ers to attend, thus saving one, if not
two commissions, besides storage,
trimming, switching, etc.,-all costly
operations. With farmers clubs and
oranges established in every county
in the west, the plan would be entire
ly feasible. All that is wanted is the
proper organization to make the start.
Once established, the system might
easily be extended to embrace not
only the articles the farmer had to
sell, but also many which he has to
buy; for selling as he would in large
lots, he could afford to buy his sup
plies in quantities to last year and
thus q saving would be made in both
ways.
Let us take the article of wool, for
instance. The fleeces are now taken
to the commission houses, where they
are sorted. Here the wool is graded
by experts. The superior fleeces are
all placed together, the combing
woods by themselves, and the others
according to their relative grades
The merchant takes these to himself,
perhaps at the price per pound at
which the whole was sold, thus net
ting himself very handsome profit,
if he chooses, over and above his reg
ular commissions. Suppose a week
were to be fixed upon in a county
when the wool or accurate samples
were to be exhibited, due notice be-
ing given through the press. 1t
would draw buyers from all over the
country. In these days, when every
county has its fair grounds, might be
easily arranged, and if counties would
combine into districts, the whole
would be still more simplified. If
sold, the money is paid directly to the
grower, less the small amount neces-
sary to cover the expense Of grading
and storing. Aswith wool and stock,
so with other products. 1t wants
time and some experience to work
the matter up. 1t wants business
management, but this ought to be a
part of every respectable farmers
education. Once fairly established, 1t
could not fail to be satisfactory. In
this respect we may learn a lesson in
rural economy from our neighbors
over the ocean.
One of the advantages of the plan
proposed is, it places the producer
and the buyer more nearly on par
than is now the case. A case in
point may be taken from the sales of
cattle The drover picks up stock
from farmers here and there, freights
them to the distributing points and
again sells them. Here both parties
stand on an equal footing-the drov-
er and the cattle merchant-they are
both experts, and have only to judge
the points Of excellence in the finish
ed article, while the farmer has to
keep himself posted in many matters
pertaining to the article in its various
stages. When commodities are sold
at auction there is nearly always COM
petition sufficient to induce the full
value to be paid-sometimes far more.
At least, the farmer has the satistac-
ton Of selling direct. And here
again the smaller dealers and more
indifferent judges can take advantage
of the experience Of the experts and
can often really afford to advance a
little after the experts had ceased to
bid.
In this age of great enterprise, the
plan Of combining capital to reach a
fixed end is becoming almost univer-
sal. 1t is comparatively easy to be
brought about in cities. Say what
we may, there is really nothing wrong
in the plan, unless this capital be
used for swindling purposes; and the
larger the capital that is involved,
the greater the average profit. 1t is
not so easy for farmers to follow their
lead; they are too much segregated,
too widely scattered. Nevertheless,
the plan is not so difficult as it might
seem. The farmers of a town hay
ing certain property to sell could del
egate one of their number to perform
the duties, at fair rate. Thus time
would be saved, money would be
saved, better prices would be reached,
and the producer and consumer would
be brought more nearly together by
this true system of cooperation. 1t
would seem to be time that begin
ming at least be made in this dircc-
Farm Journal.