344 



CITY MILK SUPPLY 



All delivery wagons should be covered. They are of three principal 

 types. That most used is one where the driver mounts over the wheel 

 and is open at the ends; in some cities the wagon with a step between the 

 wheels and a door in the middle is used. In still others the step and door 

 is at the rear and the man drives standing up with the cases of bottles in 

 front of him. 



The cost of operating milk wagons varies greatly in different cities 

 according to the price paid for horses, labor, feed, stabling, etc. Some 

 data furnished by Thomson are given in Table 100. 



The life of a horse and of a wagon depends on their quality and on the 

 usage and care they receive and of course varies a great deal with these 



FIG. 49.- Delivery wagon with the door in the rear. 



different factors. So far as the writer has been able to find out by inquiry 

 the usual estimate of the life of each is 3 or 4 years. 



The delivery routes should not be allowed to grow up in haphazard 

 fashion,; on the contrary, they should be carefully planned. Generally 

 the more deliveries per mile traveled, the less is the cost of delivery per 

 quart, and delivery over well-paved streets is attended with the least 

 wear and tear on the horse and wagon. Therefore, it should be the aim 

 of the dealer to build up his business in well-populated and well-cared-f or 

 sections of the city. He should know the amount of milk carried and the 

 distance traveled by each wagon. The routes of the several wagons should 

 be laid out in such a way that they cross and recross each other as little 

 as possible. Conditions in the residential sections should be studied; 

 in some, the houses are flush with the sidewalk while in others, they may 



