COST OF DISTRIBUTING MILK. 51 



More than 20 per cent, of the routes average 14 miles long and almost 

 half of them average 13 miles. 



4. Loss of Bottles. — In Worcester 30 dealers, delivering 15,809 quarts 

 per day, claim a loss of $4,913.42 yearly in bottles. Most of the loss in 

 bottles is the fault of consumers. Bottles are frequently unfit for service 

 when returned and many dealers state that they destroy such bottles. 

 Milk bottles are handy receptacles during preserving season, and one 

 dealer told of a housewife who proudly exhibited 100 quart bottles filled 

 with preserves and, to add insult to injury, asked him for a sufficient 

 number of caps to cover them. 



5. Bad Debts. — This waste is common to all businesses which extend 

 credit but the competitive milk dealer suffers more than ordinary loss 

 because unscrupulous persons have a variety of methods for evading the 

 pajnnent of small bills. To prevent this loss many dealers make special 

 trips for collecting. Bad debts cost Springfield and Worcester about 2^ 

 per cent, of all costs of distribution. These losses aggregate $0.54 per 

 1,000 quarts in Springfield and $0.82 per 1,000 quarts in Worcester. The 

 loss depends entirely on the class of trade, however, and no comparisons 

 or general conclusions should be drawn from these figures. 



6. Shrinkage. — This loss, seemingly insignificant, amounts to a con- 

 siderable sum in the course of a year. It cannot, however, be wholly 

 charged to distribution, as a certain amount is lost in transportation 

 through carelessness in transit and leaky and dented cans. A good filling 

 apparatus reduces this loss to a minimum in the dairy and whatever loss 

 may be sustained in transit is probably borne by the producer who ships 

 in cans. In general the shipper receives payment for only 8 quarts per 

 can, though the can usually contains 8j to 8^ quarts. 



7. Surplus and Spoilage. — This item is considerable in all towns and 

 cities visited and it is one of the great and ever-present problems which 

 the dealer is trying to overcome. Three factors contribute to the problem 

 of surplus milk : — 



(a) Restaurants and lunch counters which close on Sunday. 



(6) Decreased demand owing to depopulation of cities during summer. 



(c) Excessive production of milk at certain seasons. 



The solution of the first factor is the business of the dealer. But to 

 solve the question of decreased consumption, which occurs regularly and 

 covers a long period, and of overproduction during certain months of the 

 year is really the business of the producer. 



Closely alUed to shrinkage and surplus is spoilage. Milk which cannot 

 be deUvered at once is very likely to sour and so become a total loss. 

 Naturally this waste is more prevalent dining the summer at the time of 

 surplus production. The producer who delivers his own milk can some- 

 times regulate the supply by producing more winter milk, by feeding some 

 milk to calves or pigs, or he may be able to sell it to a creamery. The 

 small dealer can do little but dump the surplus into the sewer. 



In the aggregate the question of surplus milk is a big one which many 



