The Russellville Democrat., 1884-05-08
How Butter May Compete with Olso-
 margarine.

The question of supplying the de- mand of the country for good, pure but ter is certainly one worth the attention of every farmer and buttermaker in the land Dairymen and all classes of but ter-producers may continue to rail against butterine, oleomargarine, or any of the compounds which are manu- facsured and sold in lieu of genuine butter but with no avail until they come squarely into competition with the manufacturers of these compounds by making and putting into the mar kets superior article. Oleomargarine finds ready sale. more because 1t is really better as an article of food-and Heaven knows it is bad enough-than three-fourths of the so-called country butter. The amount of butter of this latter class, and which is made by farmers, outside of regular dairy-farms, is enormous The final market for the greater part of this is the large cities. An examination into the treatment it is subjected to. through it's various stages of production, and until it reaches the table of the city consumer, often hum dreds of miles away from the point of manu 'acture, may throw some light on the question why it pays to manufac- ture oleomargarine. First, from the farm it goes to the country stores, where, as rule, good, bad and indif- ferent are dumped promiscuously into. sometimes tubs, but often old shoe boxes; and at any rate, whatever may be the receptacle, it is too frequently stink and rancid to that degree that good butter put thereinis no longer good. Herein lies a great evil. The country dealer seldom thinks of grading his but ter. He generally pays the same price for whatever comes in on the same day, regardless of whether it is good or bad. When bought it. as stated, all goes to- gether 10 assist the accumulation of 8 sufficient quantity for shipment. During this time it is not infrequently kept in a cellar, poorly ventilated, and reeking with poisonous gases escaping from decaying vegetables, which are seldom absent in the average country store keepers cellar Is it any wonder that city people, as rule, have not very good opinion of what is often sold as ..fresh country butterF"
 It is doubtless true that not more than one-half the farmers know how to make good butter. It is also true that it is just as easy for one to make good butter as for another. Indifference and indo- lence have as much to do with it in many instances as have any other causes.
 If the country dealers would strictly grade every pound of butter handled. and adopt scale of prices according; if they would not hesitate to tell Mrs. A that her butter, because of it's inferior quality, was worth only half as much as Mrs. B's, who makes a first-class article, the chances are Mrs. A would go home and begin in earnest to learn how to make butter equal to the best.
 A general adoption of this system of grading by the dealers all over the country would doubtless do more to raise the standard of excellence of country butter than any other one thing. But until something is done in this direction, and looking to the ac- complishment of so desirable result, it is idle to raise trade of abuse against butterine and oleomargarine. It may not be palatable truth, but it may as we'll be stated that the farmers and but ter-producers are at the present time greatly assisting these manufacturers to get rich by simply giving them a field practically clear from opposition. This is not a question of legislation, but one of supply and demand, and one in which the amount of the latter depends upon the quality of the former. If the producers of butter can make a good article, one in every way superior to any of the compounds now on the market, butter will win the day and oleomarga- rine be retired from the position of an important factor in the problem! In a nutshell the question fairly stated is this: Between good butter and good oleo- margarine the consumer will take the former every time; but as between q good article of the latter and a villain ous article of the former, it can easily be seen where the preference would fall.-N r. Tribune.