19161 EURAL ECONOMICS. 191 



The author claims that the chances for success in conducting cooperative 

 stores are not so numerous or as great as many imagine. They should be 

 attempted only after a most careful survey of local conditions and then only 

 when sufficient capital and high-grade management are available. In conduct- 

 ing such stores, goods may be sold to the members either at cost, plus office 

 expenses, interest, etc., or at regular retail prices. The plan of selling by 

 regular retail prices is preferred by many because it is less disturbing to 

 local trade and at the end of the season the profits may be divided between 

 the member and nonmember patrons in the form of dividends. 



A successful rural cooperative laundry, C. H. Hanson {U. S. Dept. Agr. 

 Yearbook 1915, pp. 189-194, pi. i).— The author states that the organization of 

 the cooperative laundry at Chatfield, Minn., is unique in that, although a sep- 

 arate corporation, the laundry and the creamery have the same officers. The 

 laundry company is organized under the cooperative laws of the State and has 

 been capitalized at $5,000. 



The creamery company owns the building, which it rents to the laundry 

 company at $10 per month, and supplies it with power and heat at the 

 rate of about $15 per month. The building is an addition to the creamery, 

 30 by 70 feet, costing about $2,000. Between and joining the two buildings are 

 the boiler, engine, and coal rooms. This arrangement is found convenient 

 for the operators of both plants, reduces overhead expenses, prevents con- 

 tamination of cream and butter from the laundry, and is economical of heat 

 and power. A portion of the second story has been finished off for a lunch and 

 rest room for the employees. 



" The equipment is of the most modern type, . . . cost about $3,000, is 

 similar to that used in good city laundries, and is sufficient to turn out $400 

 worth of work per week. 



" The charges based on weight are 5 cts. per pound, which includes the 

 ironing of all flat work, underwear, and stockings. . . . The average cost per 

 week for the family washing has been $1.05. Patronage is about equally di- 

 vided between city and country. The laundry xisually employs about 8 persons." 



A graphic summary of American agriculture, M. Smith, O. E. Bakek, and 

 R. G. Hainsworth (U. S. Dcpt. Agr. Yearbook 1915, pp. 329-403. figs. S2). — 

 These pages contain a series of graphs and maps based upon the returns of the 

 U. S. Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Crop Estimates of this Depart- 

 ment, showing the geographic distribution and production of farm crops, num- 

 ber of farms, area of farm land, rural population, value of farm property, num- 

 ber of live stock, and live-stock products. 



Some outstanding factors in profitable farming, J. S. Cates (U. S. Dcpt. 

 Agr. Yearbook 1915. pp. 113-120, fig. 1). — This article contains the conclusions 

 brought out in previous studies of the Office of Farm Management of this 

 Department, which have been summarized as folloAvs : 



" The farming business which is of efficient size, and which is made up of 

 diverse units, put together in such a way as to operate smoothly and well, with 

 full employment of both labor and horse and machinery equipment, provided 

 supervision is adequate and the enterprises making up the farm are selected 

 wisely and are efficient, complies closely with the outstanding factors of 

 profit. . . . 



"A vast number of American farmers are making their homes on impoverished 

 land and are practically without working capital. The outstanding factors in 

 profitable farming, in such cases, consist in a study of what to do with what 

 they already have. The factors of profit must be toned down to terms of ex- 

 pediency under existing conditions." 



