Sharp County record., 1879-11-13
FARM TOPICS.
Marketing Produce.

apples, etc, and farmers are I6CtIS lHS
the returns for their summers labor
Marketing is one of the fine arts, which
every farmer does not understand. III
is the trade of the farmer to produce;
the trade of the merchant is to buy and
sell. and it must be confessed that the
buyer is often too shrewd for the pro-
ducer. As we once heard put, Ear
mers are too honest to make much proilt
out of their produce" but this IS not so.
Honesty is the best policy for producer,
middle-man, and consumer. If farmers
do not always sell their produce to the
best advantage, it is not the fault OF
their honesty, but rather of their lgno-
rance. The merchant studies the mar
kets closely. He knows what the de-
mand is and what the supply is: where
there is a surplus product and when
there is deficiency; when the market
is likely to rise and when to fall, and
BUYS and sells accordingly, often clear
inc more in one day than the producer
gains from his summers toll. True,
the middle-man also loses heavily Occa-
sionallv from bad debts and mistakes in
his calculations, so that the advantage
is not all on his side; but we wish farm
ers would give more attention to mar
keting their produce. In order to do
this they need not become merchants,
for we believe fully in every man stick
inc to his trade, but they should study
some of the ways OF the middle-men.
1t is, doubtless, true that some men
are born farmers, and others inherit a
constitutional tendency for trade, and it
is not worth while to 90 contrary to the
law of heredity, and spoil farmer by
making merchant of him; but every
producer should understand the princi-
pies of trade sufficiently to dispose OF his
own produce to the best advantage. He
must also buy groceries and dry-goods
to a greater or less extent for his family,
and 50 far is, necessarily, a merchant.
We, therefore, may do farmers a service
by calling their attention to the tricks
we mean principles-of merchants. We
have already alluded to One-studying
the state of the market. The merchant
looks over the price current as soon as
his daily newspaper comes into his
hand. He knows whether cheese is riS-
ing or falling, and buys and sells cheese
accordingly. The same is true of ap-
pies, potatoes, and every other product.
He not only looks at the price current in
one city, but in all the great markets,
and compares production with consump-
ton on a large scale. If potatoes
are rotting in one section of the
country and not in another, he knows
when to buy and when to sell. This
range of vision is not confined to one
township. The farmer having good
crop Of apples is too apt TO think that
every one else has the same, and con-
tracts to sell under this impression at
too low a rate, thus not only diminish
ing his own profits, but damaging his
fellow-producers by establishing low
prices. Merchants are careful not to
ruin each others prices, knowing very
well that this practice reacts to the dam
age of their own trade. Farmers may
not intend to undersell each other, but
they do not connect together as do mer-
chants, and, each acting independently,
some one selling ignorantly at too low a
rate makes precedent which buyers
plead in their purchases for others. If
A sells apples at 50 per barrel and B at
81, the price is far more likely to fall to
the latter figure than to rise to the
former. If B has only few apples to
sell, and does not much care at what
price they 90, he should have some re-
gard for A, who has a large orchard, on
which he is mainly dependent for an in
come. A little more consultation and
cooperation in marketing would be of
great service to the farming community.
1t is a principle with merchants and
manufacturers to give their goods an at
tractive appearance. Dry. goods are
well starched and CLOSED, and groceries
are done up in neat packages. Farmers
should learn lesson in this regard from
the manufacturer. ftwo tubs of butter
are taken to market from the same dali
ry and of the same quality, and one is
neatly balled and tastefully stamped,
and the other is in uncomely rolls, the
fancy balls will bring a fancy price,
while the untidy rolls can with Difficult
ty be sold at any price. We have heard
it said that the Star-butter is no better
intrinsically than that of hundred 9th
er dairies that sells for third as much,
and that it is folly for the consumer to
pay so much for stamp; but if con-
sumers prefer to pay this extra, then it
is folly for farmers not to put on the
stamp. Good looks 60 a great way in
selling produce as well as in securing
husbands. The quality of the product
should be the first aim, but as beauti-
full woman may be made to look ug-
ly by an mbecoming dress, so good but
ter looks badly and sells poorly when
thrust carelessly into rusty tin pail.
q II