34 BULLETIN 973, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Losses from shrinkage as reported by 115 dealers varied from 0.3 
per cent to 7 per cent, and the average was 2.29 per cent. Such 
losses are largely due to the following causes: 
Leaky cans. 
Dented cans. ^ 
Cans not full. 
Careless handling of cans in transferring from cars and dumping. 
Inefficient draining of cans. 
Leaky or battered apparatus. 
Fillers out of repair, and leaky valves. 
Losses at the filler. These may be caused by improperly adjusted valves, careless- 
ness in handling, breakage of bottles, etc. 
Carelessness in handling full cases of milk, thus breaking the bottles. 
Loss from milk left in the pasteurizer, pipes, pumps, tanks, or other apparatus. 
Loss from process of pasteurizing, separating, homogenizing, and clarifying, by 
evaporation and mechanical losses. 
Loss by transferring milk and cream from bottles to cans, as in the case of returns 
from the routes. 
Shrinkage in cooling milk. 
Breakage of bottles in transferring on conveyers usually due to poorly constructed 
cases. 
There is necessarily a certain amount of shrinkage in transferring 
milk from cans to bottles and in the process of clarifying and pasteuriz- 
ing. Special attention to this matter, however, should reduce these 
losses considerably. Collecting pans should be placed under all milk 
apparatus where milk is apt to spill and especially under the filling 
machines. 
CHECKING MIBK THROUGH THE PLANT. 
Every milk plant, whether large or small, should have as a part of 
an adequate accounting system a method of keeping a check on all 
milk received and handled through the plant. On the following 
pages are given some of the forms that may be used in checking the 
milk handled at small plants. No attempt is made to describe the 
general accounting system. 
CHECKING GOODS HANDLED IN PLANT. 
There are many milk losses connected with a milk plant that are 
sometimes overlooked. For example, a driver may go out with more 
milk than is charged to him, or he may receive credit for returning 
more milk than he actually returns, or a quantity of milk may be 
sent out " special delivery" and fail to be charged. To check up 
such mistakes and losses a balance of all goods handled at the plant 
should be made out each day. Figure 21 is a stock balance sheet 
that is adaptable for a small dealer operating from 5 to 10 wagons. 
The method of using this stock balance sheet is as follows: The 
" stock on hand" may be taken at any definite time, depending upon 
conditions in the plant, as at 6 p. m.; but it should be at the same 
time each day. (The " stock on hand" at the bottom of the sheet 
will be carried forward to the following day as the - ' stock on hand ' ' 
at the top of the new sheet.) To this item is added all goods received 
at the plant during the day. The total of these items is the total 
to be accounted for. On the credit side of the balance are put all 
sales, known losses, etc.; this total added to the quantity on hand 
should equal the total to be accounted for. If all records are care- 
