2 BULLETIN 1441, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
FACTORS STUDIED 
The factors studied were : Number of stores in relation to popula- 
tion, location of store, type of store, volume of business, character of 
business, practical knowledge of proprietor, sources of supplies and 
method of buying, facilities and equipment, sanitation, bookkeeping, 
salesmanship, advertising and other selling practices, misleading 
practices and deception (including displays, short weighing, over- 
charging, and substitution), frequency of turnover, price determina- 
tions, disproportionate demand for different cuts of meats, spread 
between wholesale costs and retail prices, and numerous factors of 
lesser importance which exert an influence on the industry. 
NUMBER OF STORES IN RELATION TO POPULATION 
In a study of the retail meat industry in 28 cities in various parts of 
the United States during 1919 and 1920 the average number of per- 
sons per store at that time was found to be 821. In this studv the 
City J 
CITIES 1 
NCLUDED IN THE STUDY 
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Denver 
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Fig. 1.— Extent of study from standpoint of geographical location 
number per store in different cities ranged from 300 to 700 persons 
per store. New York City, for instance, with an estimated population 
of 6,000,000, has 13,000 retail meat markets, or 1 market to 462 
persons, according to records of the license bureau of that city. 
Chicago, with an estimated population of 3,000,000, had 7,000 licensed 
retail meat dealers in 1925, or 1 market to 429 persons. 
LOCATION OF STORE 
Location of store in the first place was found to be determined 
largely by character of business or type of market to be operated. 
Other than this, location is of minor importance, provided density 
of population is given due consideration in choosing it. The cash- 
and-carry stores and cash-and-delivery stores, whose customers are 
to some extent transient in character, depend largely upon conven- 
ience and accessibility of location to attract trade. These stores, 
