32 
BULLETIN 973, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Universal interchangeable bottle. 
Federal control, as State and city are too lenient. 
Forbid the use of bottles recovered from the dumps. 
Federal publicity campaign. 
Laws prohibiting junk dealers from handling milk bottles. 
Laws compelling consumers to return the milk bottles. 
Penalty for use of milk bottles for anything but milk. 
Use of special bottle cases in the plant to prevent breakage. 
GOODS RETURNED FROM DELTVERY ROUTES. 
Another source of loss and added expense in the milk business is 
the large quantity of goods returned from delivery routes and the 
uneconomical disposition made of the returned goods. Some dealers 
make special efforts to keep the returns as low as possible, while 
others do not, probably figuring that it is cheaper to have large returns 
sometimes rather than to take the risk of having the driver run short 
and being obliged to send out extra goods by special delivery. It is 
to the dealer's advantage to keep the returns as low as possible, 
while at the same time taking proper care of the trade. 
The figures in Table 10 were obtained from a dealer operating 25 
routes, and show the quantities of the various goods returned, 
expressed in per cent of those taken out. 
Table 10. — Quantities of various goods returned at a representative plant icith 25 
routes, in per cent of goods taken out. 
Goods returned. 
Total 
Month of 
October. 
One Mon- 
day m 
October. 
Gallons milk (bulk) 
Quarts milk 
Pints milk 
Half-pints milk 
Quarts certified milk 
Quarts buttermilk 
Gallons cream 
Quartscream 
Pints cream 
Half-pints cream 
Half- pints whipping cream 
Per cent. 
5.0 
4.3 
5.2 
3.1 
6.4 
20.0 
6.6 
4.0 
16.0 
8.8 
25.0 
Per cent. 
2.0 
4.0 
6.0 
4.0 
6.0 
22.0 
10.0 
3.0 
16.0 
9.0 
23.0 
Pet 
cent. 
4.5 
4.5 
7.5 
7.0 
6.2 
26.0 
12.0 
6.3 
20.0 
11.0 
23.2 
Among the most common methods of disposing of returned goods 
are trie following: 
Sell the same day as cash sales at the plant or for special orders. 
Sell to peddlers the same day. 
Sell on the wholesale routes the next day. 
Sell on the retail routes the next day. 
Separate and sell the cream to the trade the next day. 
Separate and sell cream to ice-cream dealers or butter stores, or dispose of it at the 
butter, ice cream, and cheese departments of own plant. 
Sell sour cream to certain classes of trade for family use. 
Sell sour milk to cottage-cheese dealers. 
Use in the manufacture of casein, milk sugar, albumen, etc. 
Use in the manufacture of buttermilk. 
Each dealer has to study his own conditions, since what may be 
the best way for one dealer may not be suitable for another. Most 
