2 BULLETIX 456, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
agers of chain stores, retailers, restaurant and hotel proprietors, offi- 
cials of produce exchanges and butter boards, the official butter in- 
spectors of the exchanges, managers of cold-storage warehouses, and 
officials of transportation companies. 
UNIFORM QUALITY OF BUTTER AN IMPORTANT MARKET 
REQUIREMENT. 
A frequent complaint made by the dealers and distributors in the 
markets is a lack of uniformity of the butter produced by many 
creameries, and an increasing quantity at certain seasons of inferior 
butter which is known as "undergrades." An inspection of this but- 
ter indicated that the inferior quality was often clue to the use of 
cream of poor quality and to some extent to faulty manufacturing 
methods. 
The requirements of various markets differ widely in some particu- 
lars, and butter of certain characteristics which is acceptable on some 
markets may meet serious objection on others. An illustration of this 
variation is found in Xew York and Philadelphia where certain con- 
suming classes require butter of light color and salt, a firm waxy 
body, and a quick, fresh, sweet, clean flavor, while in Baltimore, 
Washington, and the markets of the South, the consumers generally 
prefer a deep yellow color, medium to heavy salt, and a reasonably 
fresh, clean flavor. Some markets require a high-flavored, firm- 
bodied, well-made piece of butter. Creamery men would do well to 
pay more attention to the importance of producing butter of the qual- 
ity demanded by critical markets if they wish to obtain the highest 
market prices for their products. They should also know the require- 
ments of the various markets and the channels of trade through 
which each grade of butter reaches that trade which demands it. 
In the larger markets there are buyers for every grade of butter. 
The large retail chain store and chain restaurant systems in many 
cities often are confronted with the problem of obtaining large sup- 
plies of butter of uniform quality for their trade. They usually 
have been unable to buy directly from local country creameries or 
to obtain their supplies from the smaller jobbers and have been 
obliged, therefore, to buy from the larger wholesale receivers or cen- 
tralizing creameries which may have large quantities of butter of a 
uniform quality. The retail chain store system is becoming an im- 
portant factor in retail butter distribution. In some of the larger 
cities 40 per cent or more of the butter is retailed by chain stores. In 
many of the larger cities very satisfactory sales might be made to these 
stores by country creameries, if they produced butter of uniform 
quality and concentrated their product either at points within the 
areas of production or on the market where the chain store buyers 
could obtain such grades and quantities as they require. The employ- 
