Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1879-04-17
A PLAIN TALK WITH HE BUTTEx
MAKERS OF GALLATIS
COUNTY.

IN daughters. do not asake better butter.
is safe TO say that fully two-thir,ls of III
.,, butter brought to the BoZcman market
unit. To eat or to set on a decent table "
;. arc aware. in making this statement. tn:
we are stepping on extremely sensiti,
; ground. and that we are li'sie to have
volcanic eruption OF inn ecatiOns aroun
y our ears any moment : .ter daring to ute
7" such an !rsinnation: but. regardless G
consequences tor 'ne benefit Of consumer
'e as well as in lie interests Ct producers
RI themselves. &c repeat that two-thirtls O
the so-calIf Il butter brought into this MAI
ID ket Is NIT for use and hardly deserves TIN
10 sign icint mime OF ''cow-grease' will
" .iich il has been deseryedly siigmatiZet
- Dy western journalists.
F. When it is taken into consideration that
as general rule. Montana dairy cows are
usually healthy and that. having an abun
dance of sweet and nutritious pasturage
pure water and a mild climate. they possess
at least average milkin" and butter quail
ties. and that all the conditions of wafer
: and climate being SO remar i.ably favorable
TO dairy operations. 1t is really matter OF
y surprise that any really bad or inferior
: butter should be produced. Butter max
: ing. however. is an art which, like any
other art or profession. requires some nat
ural taste or adaptabiity. considerable
study and close observation and reason
able amount Of practical application in Or
der to become proficient therein.
+ we started out to state a few plain
facts Ills article. we will just. premise by
: saying / t. in our opinion. the greatest
obstacle iii the way of good buttel making
lies in the fact that almost every person.
man or woman-who has ever succeeded
in extracting sort of grease or salyy sub
stance from cows milk imagnes that he or
she has arrived at ne plus ultra or is
the best butter maker in the country:
and this. without the least suitable etluca-
ton. experience or proper knowledge of
! the requisite conditions of successful dairy
ing. Hence. with such foolish and wide
the markets are literally flooded with but
ter that neither deserves the name nor the |
sale that ii Elcets with If matters are as
bad as we represent. the question will no t
doubt be asked: Why do the merchants |
purchase the inferior product without com
ment or complaint and thus encourage its
manufacture? TO our mind the answer is
plain and easy. Merchants. as class. are
not only good calculators. but fair judges
Of human nature. They are aware of the
prevailing sensitivcness-especially among
dairy wOmen-in regard to their profccn-
cy rs bntter-makcrs and they are not fool
isli enough to call in question a wOman's
knowledge or ability. nor the quality of
her butter at the risk Jf mourning her ever
lasting displeaslire and the consequent loss
OF her trade and that. perhaps, OF all her
friends and relations.
In many instances. we have no doubt.
merchants receive small lots Of butter from
their regular customers, knowing that it
will be either worthless to them or that if
they succeed in selling it at all it cannot
but give dissatisfaction to those who pur- !
chase it from them; but they regard it as .
the only alternative. and knowing that all
their competitors are in 1.-THE same boat" .
they take their chances and mutely submit
to what they must feel to be little less than !;
a palpable imposition. If merchants could !.
have their choice in the matter. few. if any. :
Of them would ever touch butter for the :,
purpose of barter or trade. Not one in 4 :
hundred of those who handle it come out ;,
whole on the transaction, and the only ;,
reasons most of ,fem have for handling it =
IT ali are those and such as those. to which !;
We have briefly alluded. 1t is a question :
with them generally which they can best
,ffOrd to lOse-the messes of unpa!atablc
md unstable ''cow grease" which are fire.
iuently brought in or the entire trade of
heir otherwise good customers: and OF the r
wO evils they choose, what in their judy
nent they consider the least.
Now. we do not want any of our good II
armers' wives nor dairymaids to Get mad d
t the foregoing plain and, as we have II
.ood reason to believe. fair statement of c
he case. We make no sweeping state d
ncnts nor personal illusions. There are a a,
ew very excellent butter-inakers-tO their fl
redit be it said-in almost every commun- ID
fy and this is not an exception to the q n Q,
raj rule. but. that a large majority of the RI
o-c:lled butter-makers in Gallatn county &c
now nothing whatever about the business II
nd have no cOnImendablc ambition to a,
'arn. is apparent from the fact that for L
ears the principal town in the best agri- st
ultilral and grazing county in the Terri Sc
Dry has been flooded with vile product m
allied butter that would have been con- in
emncd as unwholesome and wholly unfit til
Or the table or culinary purposes in any pl
roperly regulated market. In
There are proper incentives to excellence "
every art. profession or department of IN
lbOr. we care not how humble or appar- ed
nily trifling. if legitimate and useful, the vi
ccupation may be. The person who p
Uses bushel OF premium wheat. pro-
uces sack OF choice or extra -four. makes in
light and Wholesome loaf of bread or to
reduces a roll OF sweet, fresh, ..gilt of
lged' butter is justly entitled to recogni- ce
on as public benefactor. The morals of Id
family and community are as sensibly an
iected by what they eat and drink as is I'd
,cir general health. 1t is notorious that. tn
ersons who subsist on coarse. badly-pre- &c
AIRED and unwhOesOme food are. as a hi
eneral rule. coarse, rude and vicious, rest an
e under wholesome restraint and lawless so
lien opportunity offers. Such mode OF pa
wing. when from choice. of course. sug- by
ests a general downward tendency in 9TH lo
: important habits Of life. such as neglect q
general cleanliness. disregard of per- in
,nal appearance and loss OF selfre-
)ect. all Of which are extremely demoral- Sc
ing in their tendency and induce only to a M
cious life. Cleanliness is next to godli- i'm
ess' is an important adage, the truth and
,rce Of which we ale liable to underrate.
In this art of understanding we should
Ike to see the farmers and dairymen's
ives and daughters Of Gallatin county
keel. There is no good reason why they
iould not. 1t is an important industry III
ow AMI it is capable of astonishing ex- lh'
ansion and vastly increased profit under I'D
improved management. II good butter Ill
as the rule instead Of the exception. the WI
g., Il