frequency with which his limited stock is cleared out and replaced by
fresh supplies.

2604. Precautions.

But should the small capitalist still prefer opening in a suburban
district, where competition is less severe, and rents and rates less
burdensome, there are certain precautions which he will do well to
observe. He should particularly guard against opening a shop to
supply what may be termed the superfluities of life; for the
inhabitants of new suburban districts are those who, like himself,
have resorted to a cheap residence for the sake of economy. Or if this
be not the case--if they are people of independent means, who prefer
the "detached villa" to the town house, squeezed up on both sides,
they have the means of riding and driving to town, and will prefer
choosing articles of taste and luxury from the best marts, enriched by
the finest display.

2605. Necessaries or Luxuries.

The suburban shopkeeper should, therefore, confine himself to
supplying the _necessaries_ of life. Hungry people dislike to fetch
their bread from five miles off; and to bring vegetables from a long
distance would evidently be a matter of considerable inconvenience.
The baker, the butcher, the greengrocer, the beer retailer, &c., are
those who find their trade first established in suburban localities.
And not until these are doing well should the tailor, the shoemaker,
the hatter, the draper, the hosier, and others, expect to find a
return for their capital and reward for their labour.

2606. Civility.

In larger localities, where competition abounds, the small shopkeeper
frequently outstrips his more powerful rival by one element of
success, which may be added to any stock without cost, but cannot be
withheld without loss. That element is _civility_. It has already been
spoken of elsewhere, but must be enforced here, as aiding the little
means of the small shopkeeper to a wonderful degree. A kind and
obliging manner carries with it an indescribable charm. It must not be
a manner which indicates a mean, grovelling time-serving spirit, but a
plain, open, and agreeable demeanour, which seems to desire to oblige
for the pleasure of doing so, and not for the sake of squeezing an
extra penny out of a customer's pocket.

2607. Integrity.

The sole reliance of the shopkeeper should be in the integrity of his
transactions, and in the civility of his deme