12 



BULLETIN 776. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Table 14. — Cost of "creamery firsts" butter placed in cold storage during 

 June and July, 1917, if bought at New York market prices. 



Date. 



Percent- 

 age of 

 total 

 holdings. 



Total 



moved into 



storage. 



Price 



per 



pound. 



Cost. 



June 1-15 



June 16-30 



Per cent. 

 14.8 

 24.0 

 20.1 

 18.7 



Pounds. 

 15,758,412 

 25,5.54,182 

 21,401,628 

 19,910.967 



Cents. 

 39.07 

 37.40 

 38.18 

 38.40 



Dollars. 

 6,156,812 

 9,557,264 



July 1-15 



8,171,142 



July 16-30 



7,645,811 







Total 



77.6 



82,625,189 



38.15 



$31,531,029 



The months of June and July being the time of accumula- 

 tion and the period from October 1 to March 1 the time of 

 distribution, it may be assumed that in general the stock that 

 went into storage in the former months at 38.16 cents was sold 

 in the latter months at 44.02 cents, a gross profit of 5.86 cents 

 per pound or 15.35 per cent on the investment. From this 

 apparent profit, deduction should be made of approximately 

 eight-tenths of a cent per pound to cover storage and insur- 

 ance charges, making the actual profit slightly more than five 

 cents per pound, from which must be deducted interest on the 

 money invested to ascertain the net profit. 



Table 15. — Selling price of "creamery firsts'* butter delivered from cold 

 storage during season of 1917-1918 at New^ York market prices. 



Date. 



Percent- 

 age of 

 total 



holdings. 



Moved out 

 of storage. 



Price 



per 



pound. 



Selling 

 price. 



October 



November 



December 



January 



Per cent. 



6.1 

 19.7 

 30.1 

 22.0 



6.8 



Pounds. 



6,495,021 

 20,975,725 

 32,049,204 

 23,424,667 

 •7,240,352 



Cents. 

 43.25 

 41.72 

 43.58 

 46.25 

 46.08 



Dollars. 



2,809,097 



8,751,072 

 13,967,043 

 10,833,908 



3,336,354 







Total 



84.7 



90,184,969 



44.02 



$39,697,474 



In the season of 1916-1917 the range of prices for "cream- 

 ery firsts" during June and July was from 27 to 30 cents, the 

 average price being 28.05 cents per pound. The prices of 

 ''creamery held firsts" for the months of October to February, 

 inclusive, ranged from 33.75 to 38.5 cents, the average being 

 36.04 cents per pound. The operation, therefore, showed an 

 apparent profit of 7.79 cents per pound, from which must be 

 deducted the costs of storage and interest on investment to 

 arrive at the net profit. 



The reports of the Bureau of Markets do not show the move- 

 ment into storage during the season of 1915-1916. The price 

 quotations, however, for "creamery firsts" during the months 

 of June and July ranged from 24 to 28 cents, the average of 

 the daily quotations being 26.64 cents per pound. From No- 

 vember 1, 1915, to March 1, 1916, the prices of "creamery 

 held firsts" ranged from 26 to 28.5 cents, the average being 

 27.45 cents per pound. There was therefore an apparent profit 

 of 0.81 cents per pound, an amount barely sufificient to cover 



