124 MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY PLANTS 



factured, the cost of such material, fluctuation in value thereof, 

 if any, cost of manufacturing, cost of selling, value of patent 

 rights, and the legitimate profit for the manufacturer and 

 dealer. 



The general market value of an article is ascertained by writ- 

 ing to various firms handling that particular article. Informa- 

 tion thus obtained should be filed. For smaller firms a letter 

 file will be satisfactory and the letter itself may be filed for refer- 

 ence. For larger firms a card file will be more satisfactory. The 

 information may be filed alphabetically and for creameries the 

 file may be divided into two sections, the first dealing with 

 equipment and the second with supplies. For example, if let- 

 ters are received in reference to the cost of equipment the in- 

 formation may be filed under the general names of such equip- 

 ment as churns, vats, engines, testers, etc., and alphabetically 

 in reference to firm names. 



The Buyer Should Know the Future Value of the Goods 

 He Is to Buy. A buyer will know when to buy and how much 

 to buy if he has a fair conception of the future value of the 

 goods. Consider, for example, such an article as coal, which 

 fluctuates more or less in value. In order to determine the 

 advisability of buying several months' supply at a time the 

 buyer should consider the principal factors which may affect 

 the future value of the coal. Such are general demand, labor 

 strikes, transportation, and local conditions. Under the head 

 of transportation should be considered both the ability of the 

 transportation company to give prompt service as well as dif- 

 ference in rate of transportation between smaller and larger 

 quantities. Some factories are so located that they can take 

 advantage of water rate at certain seasons of the year, while at 

 other times they must ship by rail. Under the head of local 

 conditions should be considered price charged by local dealers, 

 cost of drayage, amount of money available, interest on money, 

 storage facilities, loss of fuel value of coal, etc. 



The Buyer Should Know the Quality and the Need of the 

 Goods He Buys. He should be able to make a wise choice as 

 to quality and determine whether the article in question is 



