These branch houses must, in turn, dispose of each shipment promptly to make room for new arrivals. Each branch manager receives a memorandum of the cost of the beef, and of course is expected to sell it at a profit. But he _must_ sell it within a very limited time, even if he cannot show a profit. Local conditions determine this. He may meet with unforeseen competition in the kind of meats he has ordered, or the demand for meats may have fallen off for one or a dozen of reasons, or for no discoverable reason at all. These known and unknown influences on the demand govern his market and he has to accept the situation, depending on evening up the score under more favorable conditions. Of course a decline or advance at one or a few branch house points, from merely local causes, does not materially affect the market at the packing centers, but any widespread fluctuation from general causes is immediately reflected in cattle prices at all of the great markets. The best way for a producer to learn what determines the price he gets for his livestock is to visit the nearest Armour branch house and get first hand information on the facts that govern meat prices at the final market. Any Armour branch manager will welcome visitors and willingly answer questions. He will explain not only the factors that influence the general level of prices, but will point out why cuts from certain types of beef carcasses are in constant demand at the highest prices, while similar cuts from other carcasses are neglected and sell materially lower. There is a type of beef carcass that is best and commands the best price, and it costs no more to produce than an inferior type. The same is true of mutton and pork. Any Armour branch manager will show you what these types are and the Armour Farm Bureau will furnish, without charge, information on improved methods of producing the sort of animals that are most in demand for meat purposes. One aspect of the big packing business, the importance of which is not generally appreciated, is refrigeration. It is not too much to say that without ample means of refrigeration, both in storage and in transit, no fit and adequate supply of fresh meats and dairy products could be supplied to the public. Food refrigeration originated with the meat packing business early in its history. At first only storage refrigeration was practiced for the purpose of conserving and equalizing the supply of fresh meats for local or near-by consumption. Then came the conception of transit refrigeration, and the refrigerator car was invented, primarily for the purpose of shipping fresh meats from the producing centers of the West to the consuming centers of the East.