April, 1937] The Milksheds of New Hampshire 5 



A completely accurate picture of milksheds throughout the State could 

 only be obtained by an instantaneous exposure. Instead of that, a suc- 

 cession of pictures was taken and joined together to make the whole. 

 The inaccuracies inevitably introduced by such a procedure are prob- 

 ably not sufficient to affect the value of the maps for the purposes for 

 which they are intended. 



For 35 markets in which the Control Board operated, over 98 per 

 cent of the production is accounted for, and no single market shows 

 less than 95 per cent located. Judging from markets where 100 per 

 cent of production has been found, no significant change in the picture 

 is introduced when less than five per cent of production is missing. 



Maps are reproduced in this study of the Claremont, Keene, and 

 Laconia milksheds, and they have been chosen to illustrate the differ- 

 ences and similarities which occur between markets of about the same 

 size. Claremont (population 12,377) is situated in, and Keene (popu- 

 lation 13,794) is close to, the wholesale dairy section of the Connecticut 

 River Valley. Laconia (population 12,471) is in the summer resort 

 section. 



(2) Total Sales in Various Markets 



In this study, the term "dealer" is applied to a distributor who 

 purchases the major portion of the milk he sells. The term "producer- 

 distributor'' is applied to a distributor who produces the major portion 

 of the milk he sells. 



Estimated daily sales of milk and cream (on milk equivalent basis) 

 by dealers, producer-distributors, and stores in all 35 markets are shown 

 in Table I. These estimates have been made from Control Board rec- 

 ords of distributors' average daily sales in the year immediately preced- 

 ing the summer of 1936. These data, in most cases, are producers' esti- 

 mates and are not taken from actual sales records. All of the cities and 

 most of the large towns are included in this table. 



The amounts listed under the column ' ' Total ' ' represent estimates 

 of net daily sales in each market. Estimates of dealers' and producer- 

 distributors ' sales are given separately. Items under ' ' Stores ' ' are not 

 included in the estimates of net sales, as double counting would be in- 

 troduced. Milk or cream sold by a store has already appeared in deal- 

 ers' or producer-distributors' sales. 



(3) Importance of Different Types of Distributive Agencies 



Total daily sales of milk and cream in New Hampshire markets 

 operating under the State Milk Control Board varied from over 30,000 

 quarts to less than 200 quarts. In the three markets whose maps are 

 reproduced here, Claremont, Keene, and Laconia, sales varied between 

 five and seven thousand quarts. 



But estimates of total sales conceal many significant market dif- 

 ferences. Some markets (and this is true of the two largest state mar- 

 kets) receive most of their milk from dealers. In such markets, pro- 

 ducer-distributors play only minor roles ; and producers, therefore, have 

 little direct contact with the problems of retail distribution. Markets 

 of this type include Manchester, Nashua, and Portsmouth. Table I 

 shows that in each of these markets, well over 90 per cent of the milk 

 was distributed by dealers. 



