268 THE WORK OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE 
buyer; at once after such time the price of the share normally 
drops by the amount of the current dividend payment. Most 
bonds on the New York Stock Exchange, however, are quoted 
“and interest”’—that is, one pays not only the quoted price for 
the bond but an additional sum representing accrued interest 
upon it to date from the last coupon payment date. Thus a 
1% bond with semi-annual coupon dates of January 1 and July 
1, if quoted at go on April 1 will actually cost the purchaser 
$900 plus about $10 accrued interest for three months. The 
seller of course receives the accrued interest which the buyer 
pays. 
Income and adjustment bonds, however, are dealt in on the 
Stock Exchange “flat” like shares, since like shares their inter- 
est does not have to be paid to avoid default. Bonds in default 
are also dealt in “flat,” since in this case no interest pay- 
ments are actually being made upon them. British Govern- 
ment sterling bonds listed on the New York Stock Exchange 
are also quoted “flat,” to keep New York quotations as far as 
possible in accord with those of their primary market on the 
London Stock Exchange, which ordinarily quotes all its listed 
bonds “flat,” instead of “and interest” like the New York 
Stock Exchange. 
Composition of the Band Crowd.—Each morning, before 
the opening of the market at 10 A.M., “the bond crowd” takes 
its stand in the bond market, and remains there dealing in 
bonds until the market officially closes at 3 p.m. week days, or 
at 12 noon Saturdays. The bond crowd is ordinarily composed 
of about thirty Stock Exchange members, most of whom spe- 
cialize in bonds either as brokers or dealers, or both. Owing 
to the growth of the outside dealers’ market in the last two 
decades, however, the Stock Exchange bond market has to an 
even larger proportional extent tended to become a brokers’ 
rather than a dealers’ market. Also, the former tendency there 
for certain Exchange members to specialize as dealers in certain 
hond issues 1s for the same reason tending to disappear. As