MARKETING GRAIN AT COUNTRY POINTS. 35 



with regard to these matters. Bills for fuel, light, and miscellaneous 

 supplies, which include tools, oil, and waste, together with repairs, 

 may be rendered less burdensome by proper attention. 



Depreciation on the plant and interest on the investment also 

 should be considered in figuring the cost of operation. When 

 building a new plant it is wise to consider these items with relation to 

 different methods of construction. The amount of necessary working 

 capital is affected also by the method of doing business. If the grain 

 is shipped and drafts drawn as rapidly as a carload of each grade is 

 accumulated, very little capital is necessary ; but if large quantities 

 are held for any length of time, pending a more favorable market, 

 or for any other reason, the amount required is increased greatly. 

 For example, figuring interest at 6 per cent, to hold wheat costing 

 $1 per bushel for 30 days involves an expense of one-half cent per 

 bushel. 



LOSS FROM SHRINKAGE. 



As stated above, few dealers attempt to ascertain the shrinkage 

 of grain in handling, although, on the basis of the few figures sub- 

 mitted, this item amounts to from four-tenths to six-tenths of a cent 

 per bushel. The amount can be reduced considerably by proper pre- 

 cautions. It is a matter of common knowledge among elevator opera- 

 tors that grain can not be unloaded into an elevator or out, even 

 under the most favorable conditions, without some shrinkage. If 

 scales are incorrect, if elevator boots and spouting leaks, if the grain 

 is improperly cleaned, or is damp when received and dries out subse- 

 quently, or if it is shipped in poorly-coopered cars that leak while 

 in transit, this loss is increased. Scales should be examined from time 

 to time, and spouts, elevators, and all other machinery should be in- 

 spected frequently. 



When grain is to be cleaned, care should be exercised that the clean- 

 ing machinery is performing its proper functions, is equipped with 

 proper screens, and that the blast from fans and aspirators is so regu- 

 lated that the grain will be cleaned sufficiently to reach the desired 

 grade without removing any grain of value. A number of cases were 

 noted during the course of this investigation where, through the use 

 of inadequate machinery, the use of too large or too small mesh 

 screens, or an improperly directed blast or air from fans or aspi- 

 rators, either the grain had not been cleaned sufficiently or a consid- 

 erable amount of good grain had been sacrificed in the screenings. 

 In the first instance the grade of the grain had not been improved 

 and no adequate return would be received for the cost of cleaning, 

 while in the second case good grain, unnecessarily removed, was sold 

 with the screenings at a relatively low price, thus materially in- 

 creasing the cost of cleaning. 



