CITY MILK SUPPLY. 339 



endiug October 31, 1872, 705,580 gallons; the Pliiladelpliia and Balti- 

 more Central road, for the uiuemonths ending October 31, 1872, 462,500 

 gallons ; tlie West Chester and Philadelphia road, for the year ending 

 at the same date, 488,500 gallons ; the Pennsylvania Central road, for 

 Hve months ending August 31, 1872, 283,835 gallons. The city retail 

 l)rices ]>cr quart are, in summer, 8 cents; in -u-inter, 10 cents. 



Mr. Lovett reports the prices paid by dairymen to farmers in 1872 as 

 follows : From January 1 to March 31, 5i cents per quart ; for April, 

 5 cents; from May 1 to October 31, 4 cents; from November 1 to De- 

 cember 31, 5.} to cents. An analysis of this statement shows 4 cents 

 for the six mouths ending October 31, and an average of 5i cents for 

 the other months. Ileplies to inquiries made by the Department bring 

 out the fact that the rating of the cans is very generally by dry meas- 

 ure. Taking this into consideration and deducting freight-charges of § 

 cent i)er quart, paid by the farmer, net prices to ])roducers at stations 

 of shipment are exhibited at about 3jL cents for the six summer 

 months, and an average of 4| cents for the remainder of the year. 



The general freight agent of the Philadelphia and Eeading road in- 

 forms us that the receipts of milk at its Philadelphia depot in 1871 

 amounted to 2,552,041 gallons. Freight rates, '^ cent per quart, or, moro 

 precisely, 8, 12, and 15 cents for cans of 5 gallons, 7i gallons, and 10 

 gallons, respectively. Shippers are required to prepay freight. 



Keports from correspondents along this route indicate that the cans 

 are most commonly 7.} gallons in capacity. 



The general freiglit agent of the United Eailroads of Now Jersey 

 writes that the milk trafdc on these lines of road has been so small that 

 no special record of it has been kept, and that the agricultural regions 

 through which they pass are almost exclusively devoted to truck-farm- 

 ing. An efibrt is to be made to stimulate the trafhc on some of the now 

 branch roads ; the proposed rates of freight are from 1^ cents per gal- 

 lon for distances under twenty miles, up to 3 cents per "gallon for dis- 

 tances over thirty miles. 



SHIP]MENTS TO BOSTON. 



The business of supply for the Boston market is chiefly managed by 

 contractors, who, conferring Avith the producers just before the com- 

 mencement of each season of six months, lix the price per can at the 

 farmer's door, and assume provision of cans, collection of the milk, and 

 transportation by rail. The contractor leases a car of the railroad at a 

 fixed yearly rent ; the actual cost of transportation is therefore to be 

 deduced from the average amount of milk carried. The capacity of the 

 milk-car is stated at 1,000 cans, the capacity of the cans being, on some 

 routes, the Pitchburgh road for example, 8i- quarts ; on other roads, 

 as the Boston and Albany, OJ to 9^ quarts. Average amounts carried 

 on established routes, 750 cans and upward. The yearly rental per car 

 has ranged from $5,000 for a running distance of twenty miles to $9,000 

 for about fifty miles. 



A careful summary of reports received from points along the chief 

 lines of supply presents the following exhibit of prices received by the 

 farmer at his door, clear of charges for collection of milk and rail trans- 

 portation, as well as cost of cans : At distances of about twenty miles 

 Irom the city, summer price, April 1 to October 1, o^ cents per quart : 

 winter price, not over 4| cents. Concord, twenty miles from Boston! 

 reports 4y\- cents iu winter. At distances of twenty-five to forty miles, 

 summer prices, 3i cents to 3i cents; winter, 4J to 4^ cents generally 



