60 DAIRYING 



pense uniformly over a number of years or dufing the life of 

 the machinery. When a creamery is new there is little expense 

 for new machinery and very few repairs are needed, but as time 

 passes some of the short-lived apparatus, such as vats, churns, 

 butter workers, and tinware, will wear out and must be re- 

 placed. On this account the cost of operating the factory will 

 increase, and if no sinking- fund has been accumulated, the cost 

 of the new apparatus will fall on the farmers patronizing the 

 creamery at that time. This is not fair to these patrons, if others 

 have dropped out and taken advantage of the smaller cost of 

 operation while the factory was new. An assessment of the 

 patrons for this sinking fund should be made every month in 

 order to permit those who may bring milk for a short time to pay 

 their share of these expenses. The amount of this fund may be 

 estimated by assuming that the vats, churns, workers, tinware, 

 etc., will depreciate 20 per cent of their original cost each year; 

 all other machinery 10 per cent; and the building 2 per cent. 

 This depreciation of a creamery costing about $3,000 will 

 amount to about $200 per year. 



648. Estimate of Monthly Expenses. It has already been 

 stated that the milk checks or monthly dividends of a cooperative 

 creamery are paid from the money left after deducting the run- 

 ning expenses from the gross receipts of the creamery for the 

 month. Some idea of the items which should be included in this 

 monthly expense account may be obtained from the following 

 list which, it is estimated, will be the legitimate expenses of a 

 creamery costing about $3,000 and receiving an average of 4,000 

 pounds of milk, or the cream from it, per day during the year: 



Buttermaker's wages $50.00 



Secretary 5.00 



90 60-pound butter tubs, 25c each 22.50 



Tub fasteners, parch paper, etc 2.00 



360 pounds salt 3.50 



\Y-2 gal. butter color 2.00 



4 gallons oil 1.00 



Fuel at $1.00 per day 30.00 



Taxes 1.25 



