28 ESSENTIALS OF SUITABLE LOCATIONS 



CHAPTER II. 



ESSENTIALS OF SUITABLE LOCATIONS FOR MILK 

 CONDENSING FACTORIES 



Unlike the establishment of creameries and cheese factories, 

 the building of condenseries and the installing of the necessary ma- 

 chinery involve the investment of large capital. There is need of 

 a substantial building and of expensive machinery. The supplies 

 are numerous and must be purchased in larger quantities before 

 the returns from the sale of the manufactured product are avail- 

 able. It is estimated that it takes from three to six months before 

 the condensed milk reaches the consumer. This holds true espec- 

 ially in the case of canned goods. The fixed expenses also are com- 

 paratively heavy, and do not materially change with a decrease or 

 increase in the milk supply. 



All of these facts emphasize the importance of locating the 

 factory in a territory most suitable for economic manufacture, to 

 guard against heavy loss which would naturally result in localities 

 unfavorable to the industry. 



The chief factors to be considered in this connection are: 

 Milk supply 

 Water supply 

 Transportation facilities. 

 Other conditions. 



Milk Supply. A large supply of milk with possibilities for 

 extending the milk supply territory is the first essential. The con- 

 densery must have milk to do business. The locality in which it is 

 located must be adapted for the production of large quantities of 

 milk; it must be a dairy country where reasonably large herds are 

 kept. Other things being equal, the larger the milk supply, the 

 lower the cost of manufacture. Where the milk supply drops be- 

 low fifteen thousand pounds of milk daily, profitable manufacture 

 becomes difficult. Territories of gathered cream creameries are 

 usually not very desirable. The farmers generally have small herds 

 and are not inclined to haul their milk daily. They prefer to take 

 their cream to the creamery once or twice per week, or whenever it 

 is convenient for them to do so. Again, they appreciate the feed- 

 ing value of the skim milk and depend on the skim milk to raise 



