It is a sound theory in business life that no plant or building should be carried at cost on the books of an institution for any great length of time, but that each year a certain amount should be written off for depreciation. This practice is followed by all well-managed banks. It must be remembered in this connection that no matter how suitable a building may be for banking purposes, it would not be very suitable for any other business and at a forced sale might not realize much more than the value of the land. Roughly, the depreciation in the statement under discussion amounts to five per cent of the bank premises and absorbs 11 per cent of the net profits.