218 COST OF MANUFACTURE 



per day, profitable manufacture becomes difficult, the overhead 

 expense is out of proportion with the business, the factory can- 

 not take advantage of rebates in the purchase of supplies, the 

 factory labor is relatively high, because skilled men have to 

 do manual labor, and occasional losses due to spoiled goods 

 devour the profits of a comparatively large portion of the entire 

 output. 



The price of milk fluctuates with season and proximity and 

 strength of competing markets. The pre-war fluctuations em- 

 braced a range of from $1.00 to $2.00 per one hundred pounds of 

 fluid milk, or twenty-five to fifty cents per pound of butter fat. 

 Maximum war prices and post-war prices up to and including 

 January 1, 1920, reached the figure of $4.17 per 106 pounds of 

 milk. 



Cane sugar varies in price largely with the season and with 

 the success or failure of the sugar cane crop. Sugar prices 

 usually reach their climax in fall and their minimum price in 

 late winter or early spring. Pre-war variations usually fell 

 within the limits of $4.00 and $6.50 per one hundred pounds of 

 sugar. Since the war and up to January 1, 1920, the price of 

 sugar has risen to 17 cents per pound. 



Tin cans vary in price with style of can and whether made 

 in the condensery or bought from a can-making concern. Some 

 factories are paying more or less heavy royalties for the priv- 

 ilege of using certain patents of cans. Cans intended to be 

 sealed without the use of solder, but which are guaranteed to 

 make a hermetical seal, are generally higher in price than those 

 in the sealing of which solder is used. This difference in price, 

 however, is offset, in part at least, by the cost of the solder 

 and gasoline. Cans purchased from can-making concerns usually 

 are more expensive than cans manufactured in the condensery. 

 This holds true only where the tin-shop of the condensery is 

 properly equipped and efficiently manned. In normal times 

 the cost of cans bought from can-making concerns is about 45 

 cents per case of 14 ounce cans and 55 cents per case of taW 

 size cans, varying somewhat with size and style of can ; when 

 made in the condensery the price may be lowered from 10 to 

 20 per cent. January 1, 1920, prices for cans were about 88 cents 



