EXERCISE 96 

 THE COMMUNITY BUSINESS 



Object. To determine where the people of the community get their living. To ascertain if the people 

 of the community are as nearly self-sustaining as they should be or if they are buying things away from 

 home which they might more profitably produce. 



Directions. Make a survey of the local community to ascertain : 



i. What proportion of the food, such as meat, bread, vegetables, and fruits consumed in the com- 

 munity is produced locally? 



2. Examine the stock of one or two groceries in town and interview the merchants, to ascertain 

 what proportion of their stock and their yearly sales was produced in the locality and what part was 



shipped in. Ascertain where the 

 canned goods, butter, cheese, fruit, 

 and meats were produced. 



3. How can the local farmers 

 produce profitably a larger part of 

 the products they consume and 

 more of what the people in the 

 town use ? 



4. How could the farmers cure 

 their own hams, bacon, and dried 

 beef and supply their own fresh 

 meat through a local cooperative 

 beef club ? Ascertain the formulae 

 for curing meats on the farm and 

 suggest plans for a beef club. 



5. Suggest plans whereby the 

 people of the town and country can 

 work together and keep a larger 

 share of the business of the com- 

 munity at home. 



6. If there are local manufac- 

 tories in the town, ascertain where 

 the products are marketed, and if 

 the local demand for such goods is 



fully supplied or whether similar products are shipped into the community from distant cities while 

 a portion of the product of the local factory is shipped to distant markets. Make an estimate of the 

 saving that would result if the products of the factories were marketed at home. 



7. Consult the freight agents of the railway and the local merchants to ascertain if cattle, hogs, 

 sheep, eggs, and poultry are shipped out of town to market and if similar products are shipped into 

 town to be consumed. Is this an economical or a wasteful way of doing business ? Would not the 

 farmer receive a higher price for his products and the consumer secure his food at a lower price if the 

 two classes worked in close cooperation through the local retail dealer? 



8. Make an estimate of the number of hands a beefsteak passes through from the time it leaves the 

 shipping station of the cattle producer until it reaches the table of the consumer. 



9. Ascertain if the farmers of your locality so grade and pack their butter, eggs, fruit, vegetables, 

 poultry, and meat, that it is uniform in quality, standard in grade, and attractive to the purchaser, or 

 is it necessary for the merchant to rework, regrade, or repack these products before they are sold ? 



[190] 



Fig. 153. The travels of a beef steer 



One reason why meat is so high in price is that the live animal travels so much on the train 

 and visits the city so often. The steer whose picture is shown above was born in Texas 

 and was sent to Fort Worth to market as a calf ; was wintered in Kansas, and sent to 

 Kansas City to market as a yearling. Grazed in Missouri during the summer, again sent 

 to Kansas City, then to Indiana to be fattened and to Chicago to be slaughtered. The beef 

 was shipped in a refrigerator car to Louisiana to be consumed 



