28 
profit, for a large amount of capital is required to conduct a whole- 
sale or jobbing business and the expenses are considerable. (See 
Fig. 15.) 
The margins taken by the retailer show wider variations than 
those for other distributors. Butter frequently is handled by some 
stores on a week-end day at cost, for the purpose of attracting cus- 
tomers as an advertising feature. The usual margin taken by cash 
stores and chain stores will vary from 3 to 5 cents, depending upon 
the ruling retail price of butter. The retailer with a small butter 
business, who has to maintain an expensive delivery service and 
carry numerous credit accounts, often takes a margin of 5 to 7 cents 
to cover costs and profit. 
Fig. 15. — The distributing equipment of wholesalers and jobbers of butter may be quite 
extensive. Often salesmen use automobiles when taking orders and auto trucks or 
wagons are used in making delivery. 
COLD-STORAGE METHODS AND FACILITIES. 
A considerable amount of butter is placed in cold storage during 
the season of surplus production, which begins about April 1 and 
extends into August, when the receipts of fresh butter on the mar- 
kets are larger than the requirements for the consuming trade. It 
is a well-recognized fact that storage of butter is an economic ne- 
cessity, first, as a means of conserving its quality and, second, as a 
factor in equalizing the price throughout the various seasons of the 
year. The better grades of butter are in greatest demand for storage 
