266 MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY PLANTS 



9. Relation of Retail Price to Quantity Sold. It is consid- 

 ered by milk dealers that one retail wagon should distribute 

 at least 200 quarts daily in order to be operated at a 

 profit. Daily sales of 250 quarts per wagon is considered as 

 a fair average business per driver for a well-established milk 

 plant. 



The size of bottles used and the amount delivered to each 

 consumer are important factors in determining the marketing 

 cost. The value of the product handled is still another factor 

 of importance. It is considered that it costs about the same 

 to handle and market one quart of milk and one quart of 

 cream; the profit should therefore be the same in dollars and 

 cents on the same quantity. It is a fact, however, that where 

 there is a loss in handling cream it amounts to more money than 

 the loss incurred in handling the same amount of milk. It also 

 costs a fraction more to deliver a quart of cream than a quart 

 of milk, as the cream customers are usually more scattered 

 than the milk customers and they receive cream in smaller 

 quantities. There should always be a greater margin on the 

 smaller quantity, as the factory labor, office labor, and cost 

 of delivery is the same for a pint of milk as it is for a 

 quart. 



The cost of making a delivery of milk and cream should be 

 closely determined and the price charged should be in accord- 

 ance therewith. The following schedule was adopted by one 

 plant in 1916 as a reasonable charge for the various sized deliv- 

 eries. This schedule might, however, not be suitable to other 

 market milk establishments working under different conditions, 

 but it illustrates the system usually adopted by most milk dis- 

 tributors: 



i gallon milk in bulk $ .28 



i quart milk in quart bottle 08 



i pint milk 05 



i gallon 20 per cent cream in quart bottles. . . i . 20 



i quart 20 per cent cream 35 



i pint 20 per cent cream 20 



f/t pint 20 per cent cream 12 



