30 
BULLETIN 1317, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Estimates furnished by retail dealers indicate that almost 80 per 
cent ordinarily handled only one grade, while 20 per cent regularly 
handled mixed grades. (See Table 15.) Practically 50 per cent oi 
the total number reported handling medium grade only, 14 per cent 
reported handling good, choice, or prime, and 16 per cent common. 
The handling of mixed grades seems to be more prevalent among 
cash-and-carry stores than among service stores. The practice of 
handling a single grade or more than one grade at a time is evidently 
determined largely by the demands of customers. 
Table 15. — Comparative number of stores handling only one grade or two or 
more grades of fresh beef 
Number 
can- 
vassed 
Stores handling- 
Class of service and type of store 
Good 
grade 
only i 
Medium 
grade 
only 
Common 
grade 
only 
Good, 
medium, 
or com- 
mon, 
mixed 
Cash-and-carry stores - . -. . . .-. 
607 
1,656 
Per cent 
18.29 
12.44 
Per cent 
43.49 
50.73 
Per cent 
8.07 
19.45 
Per cent 
30.15 
17.38 
Total 
2,263 
14.03 
48.78 
16.39 
20.80 
Combination meat and grocery stores. . 
1,328 
618 
158 
153 
6 
11.59 
16.18 
13.92 
26.15 
16.67 
45.64 
55.66 
50.63 
47.72 
16.67 
25.15 
5.02 
3.26 
0.65 
17.62 
23.14 
32.29 
Stalls in public markets . . 
25.48 
66.67 
Total 
2,263 
14.03 
48.78 
16.39 
20.80 
1 Including prime and choice. 
The relation of classes and grades of beef handled to the retailer's 
gross margin and to his net profits is of interest. (Table 16.) Of 
55 stores somewhat above the average in size, for which informa- 
tion regarding profits as well as classes and grades of beef handled 
was obtainable, the 25 stores with a range of retailer's gross mar- 
gin from 19 to 29 per cent on sales handled more cows and less 
steers than the 30 stores with gross margin ranging from 8 to 19 
per cent. As to grades, the stores with the greater gross margin 
handled less choice and good and more medium and common than 
the stores with the smaller margin. 
From these data it appears that stores handling lower grades of 
beef sell at a greater percentage of margin over cost prices than 
those handling higher grades. This conclusion confirms observa- 
tions made in the trade during the canvass that beef of a lower 
grade sells at excessive retail prices as compared with current 
wholesale prices more frequently than that of better grade. In 
some extreme instances in stores carrying especially high-grade 
beef and giving a large amount of service, the price spread between 
wholesale and retail is much larger than in the ordinary trade, but 
as a general proposition the larger percentage of gross margin and 
the larger percentage of net profit, the latter particularly indicating 
a wider percentage of spread between wholesale and retail prices 
as compared with service rendered, seem to prevail among stores 
