26 BULLETIN 639, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
the larger dealers maintained expensive barns and wagons, while 
some of the smaller ones had much less costly delivery outfits. 
The differences in costs of supplies and in the charges for interest 
and depreciation are in the main the result of differences in the per 
gallon investments. Figure 12 shows radical differences in the cost 
of supplies in milk plants. As many of the dealers had operated 
their newly equipped plants for only a short time, and since some 
plants were not arranged efficiently or were not operated at full 
capacity, the most economical use of supplies was not possible. 
Aside from advantages of busi- 
eee eee ness experience, however, and 
Z HAN OLED DAILY . 
a differences in the extent to which 
machinery was run at full ca- 
able to effect considerable econ- 
omies by the purchase of sup- 
plies in large quantities. 
dealers have lower labor costs per 
gallon in plant operations than 
the smaller plants, owing to the 
economies effected through spe- 
CO wreresrave oeepecurion alization of labor. The apparent 
Reape exception in the case of the two 
larger groups is to be explained 
by the fact that a larger propor- 
tion of their output consisted of 
bottled goods than in the case of 
the smaller plants. In delivering 
milk, however, there appears to 
be no definite relation between 
the size of the business and the 
per gallon labor costs. 
SEAN EEE The figures of the comparative 
Fic, 12.—Variations in charges for in- COSts in Table XVII represent the 
terest and depreciation and cost of sup- expenses of handling at the city 
plies per gallon. : 3 
plant and of delivering to the va- 
rious classes of trade. They do not include, however, such expenses 
as are imposed on the business by surplus milk, soured or spoiled 
milk, shrinkage in handling, shortages on delivery routes, and bad 
bills. These items of loss or expense of the business were not obtain- 
able from many dealers, because of a lack of efficient business organ- 
ization or inadequacy of accounting systems to check such losses. 
On account of the omission of those items of expense, Table XVII 
possibly does not bring out all the comparative economies of large 
pacity, the larger dealers were. 
Figure 13 shows that the larger ~ 
