Calculating Dividends. 



195 



233. II. If the creamery is owned by the farmers, the 

 running expenses for a month are subtracted from the 

 gross returns received for the butter, and the price to be 

 paid per pound of butter fat is found by dividing the 

 amount left, by the total number of pounds of butter fat 

 delivered during the month. This price is used for pay- 

 ing each patron for his milk according to the amount of 

 fat contained therein, as already explained under Pro- 

 prietary Creameries (230). 



The monthly running expenses of a co-operative cream- 

 ery generally include such items as the wages of the 

 butter maker (and manager or secretary, if these officers 

 are salaried), labor (hauling, helper, etc. ), cost of butter 

 packages, coal or wood, salt and other supplies, freight 

 and commission on the butter sold, repairs and insurance 

 on buildings, etc. A certain amount is also paid into a 

 sinking fund (say 5 cents .per 100 Ibs. of milk), which 

 represents the depreciation of the property, wear and 

 tear of building and machinery, bad debts, etc. These 

 items are added together, and their sum subtracted from 

 the gross receipts for the butter sold during the month. 



234. Assuming the receipts for the butter during the 

 month to be $1197, and the running expenses of the fac- 

 tory $285, the amount to be divided among the patrons is 

 $912; the quantity of butter fat received was 5700 Ibs., 



