Semi-weekly herald., 1909-10-28

hay as last year.
Why then, If they know all these
things, do they not act as they did
last year? Well, in the first place,
they find themselves confronting new
conditions They think the Eden and
Ignacio bitches, and the new railroad
will be built and that The men and
teams employed on them will create
a strong demand for all of the farm
produce they will have TO sell. and
in the second place. they know that
there was no hay or grain left over
from last year, and that there is not
near enough in sight 10 supply the
normal home demand. They have no.
ticed, of course, that on account of
the Stacking up of work their market
will fall off in Silverton; but they
have also noticed that new mines are
being opened in the La Platas, that
there is bound to be an increasing
demand for our coal, and that with the
prospective rise in the price of 1um-
her new sawmills Will be started.
Therefore, considering these actual and
have made up their minds 10 hold
their wheat and oats for 1925. their
good alfalfa for SIS, and their timothy
for $lS. The best informed farmers
have not the slightest doubt that these
will soon be the prevailing prices in
Durango. and not many of them will
sell their hay or grain for less.
About the price of potatoes. how
eyer, they are not so sure. for most
| farmers in this district are now con
vinced that we have surplus that
will have to be shipped and sold in
competitive markets. Therefore, until
| they find out the exact conditions in
outside markets, there will be n good
deal of indecision in their selling, and
prices will fluctuate. Since the dig
ging season came on the price of po
tatoes has ranged from ! cent to
| three-quarters of a cent pound. and
three reasons are given for this un-
ste;rdnness-iifS price First, is the con
/ flicting reports that come IN about
conditions in outside points. Second
a good many farmers have raised po-
tatoes who have no cellar 10 keep them
in, and therefore they must sell them
as soon las they are dug. and third
up to the present time there is
good deal of uncertainty about the
acreage and the yield. A fourth rea.
son that might be given is the lack
of uniformity in the kind of potatoes
that have been raised. For it is get
II is hard to sell potatoes that come
from district like ours that has no
established uniform grades. There
fore, until the kind and amount of
potatoes raised in the district is wide
ly and accurately known. our potato
market is likely to remain in its pres
ent disorganized state. and raising
them on a large scale will be attend
ed with good deal of risk There
seem to be a good many men who
are willing to take the risk. however,
for, from all accounts, the yield Is
good and the quality excellent, and
the farmers who have cellars, as well
as the merchants who can buy at
prevailing prices, are storing them and
all are confident that they will be
worth at least $1.5O in the spring.
These are a few of the reasons why
the farmers are not dumping their
crops and Cutting the TALL market "a
they always have done heretofore
Through organization they have learn
ed that the only way to make farm
Ing pay is to sell at the right time
and through organization they will
hereafter know when that time comes
BARNEY HAUGHEY.