BUYING PRODUCE

550. Large dealings in produce. A man's work may lead him into large dealings in the products of the soil. These products are bought and sold in large quantities in great auction houses, known by various names, such as the Board of Trade, the Produce Exchange, and the Cotton Exchange.

Teachers should not require these business customs to be memorized but should seek to make the transactions seem real and legitimate.

551. Buying grain. As a rule, not less than 1000 bu. of grain are sold at a time on the Board of Trade at Chicago, the great center for such transactions. The broker charges

per bushel for buying, and the same for selling. The quotations are by the number of cents to the bushel and always vary by multiples of per bushel.

552. Buying pork. As a rule, not less than 250 bbl. of pork are sold on the exchanges. The broker's commissions are 21 per barrel for buying, and the same for selling. The quotations are by the number of dollars to the barrel and always vary by multiples of 21 per barrel. In all of the following examples remember the broker's commissions as stated above.

WRITTEN EXERCISE

1. What is the cost of 3000 bu. of wheat quoted at 917¢? 2. If a man buys 5000 bu. of wheat at 89 and sells it at 91, how much does he gain?

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3. If a dealer buys 6000 bu. of corn at 47 and sells it at 467, how much does he lose?

4. If a firm of produce dealers buys 750 bbl. of pork at $12.72, and sells it at $13.20, what is the gain?

553. Buying lard. This is one of the leading products of the central part of our country. As a rule, not less than 250 tierces are sold on the exchanges. A tierce is 340 lb. The broker charges 21 per tierce. The quotations are in dollars per tierce.

554. Buying cotton. This is the great product of the South. As a rule, not less than 100 bales are sold on the exchanges. A bale is considered as 500 lb. The broker charges $5 per 100 bales. The quotations are in cents per pound, and vary by hundredths of a cent.

555. Buying coffee. This is one of the chief imported products dealt in on the exchanges. As a rule, not less. than 250 bags are sold. A bag is considered as 130 lb. The broker charges $10 per 250 bags. The quotations are in cents per pound.

In all of the examples remember the broker's commissions.

WRITTEN EXERCISE

1. What will 1250 bags of coffee cost at 8.42¢? 2. What will 750 tierces of lard cost at $7.02? 3. What will 3000 bales of cotton cost at 12.30g? 4. What will 1000 tierces of lard cost at $6.971 ? 5. What will 2500 bales of cotton cost at 11.759? 6. If a man buys 1500 tierces of lard at $6.871⁄2, and sells it at $6.82, how much does he lose?

7. A man buys 250 bags of coffee at 8.25g, and sells it at 8.609. Does he gain or lose, and how much?

8. A cotton factory buys 500 bales at 10.61, 300 bales at 10.68, and 200 bales at 10.75g. What is the cost?

9. A dealer buys 1200 bales of cotton at 11.50 and sells it at 11.619. Does he gain or lose, and how much?

INDUSTRIAL PROBLEMS

556. Problems concerning our various industries. These problems may be used when the industries are being studied in geography. In general they involve percentage.

WRITTEN EXERCISE

1. If when we had a population of 79,374,120 there were 661,451 persons engaged in the cloth industry, one person out of how many was engaged in this work?

2. There were 297,929 wage earners in the cotton industries of our country in a certain year, and they received $84,909,765 a year. There were also 4713 salaried clerks and officials, receiving in all $7,121,343 a year. What was the average income of each class per capita?

3. If our factories produce $297,000,000 worth of woolen goods in a certain year, and the materials cost 61%, the labor 19%, the salaries of officers 2%, and the miscellaneous expenses 6% of this sum, how much is expended for each of these items, and how much is left for profit?

4. Of all the timber cut in this country in a certain year, 214% was white pine, 9.8% was hemlock, 4.2% was spruce, 27.8% was yellow pine, and 12.8% was oak. We cut 2,530,000 M ft. that year, B.M. How many feet of each of these woods were cut? How many of all the other woods?

5. This timber was worth, on an average, $2.18 per M, standing, and $6.28 when ready for the mill. How much did the cutting and logging add to the value of the total?

6. Out of this increase, $1.76 per M went for wages, and 94 for other expenses, the rest being profit. What was the total profit?

7. If it costs $1.55 a ton to manufacture ice, and the wholesale price is $2 a ton, what is the per cent of profit to the manufacturer?

8. The value of our leather product in a certain year was $204,000,000, an increase of 182% in 10 years. What was the value 10 years before?

9. The value of the shoes manufactured in this country in a certain year was $262,700,000, an increase of 18% in 10 years. What was it 10 years before?

10. At the opening of the century the amount of money invested in this country in the production of leather was $174,000,000, an increase of 7733% over the amount 10 years before. What was the amount then?

11. In a certain year we produced 67,890,000 pairs of boots and shoes for men, 21,110,000 for boys, 65,000,000 for women, 42,000,000 for girls and children, 17,000,000 pairs of slippers, and 6,000,000 other pairs. The men's boots and shoes were what per cent of the total?

12. Some of the leather that year went into 2,895,700 dozen pairs of gloves, of which 87% were for men. How many gloves were produced for women and children?

13. In a certain year we had 134,000 wage earners engaged in making cotton cloth, and they received $46,900,000. Ten years before that we had 89,000 wage earners, and they received $33,820,000. Had the wages increased or decreased per capita, and how much?

14. When New York City had a population of 3 millions it manufactured 411,000 tons of ice a year, while New Orleans, with a population of 300,000, manufactured 140,000 tons. The population and ice product of New Orleans are what per cents of those of New York? Why does the former manufacture relatively more?

15. In a year when our flour mills produced $589,950,000 of flour, our meat products were worth 33% more. What was the value of the meat products?

16. In a year when our wool products amounted to $446,740,000, this was 75% more than the value of our boot and shoe products. What was the value of the latter?

17. In a year when our mines produced 610,815,384 lb. of copper, the total output was worth $73,297,846.08, which was 20% more per pound than it was worth five years before. What was it worth per pound then?

18. In a year when the wheat crop of the world amounted to 3,124,422,000 bu., we produced 22% of the total, and Canada produced 15% as much as we did. How many bushels did Canada and the United States each produce? How many together?

19. Suppose the grain elevators of Duluth to have a capacity of 34 million bushels. Estimating a bushel as 14 cu. ft., what is this capacity in cubic feet? (It would be interesting to see how many times the volume of your schoolroom this is.)

20. Of three great flour mills of Minneapolis, if one has a capacity of 28,000 bbl. a day, a second of 34% less, and a third of 33% less than the second, and all should run at their full capacity for 300 working days of a year, how many barrels would they produce?

21. In a certain state it takes 21 lb. of milk to make 1 lb. of butter, while it takes 22 lb. in a second state, 23 lb. in a third, and 24 lb. in a fourth. The first state takes what per cent less than the second? The second what per cent more than the first? The fourth what per cent more than the third? The third what per cent less than the fourth?