Barbour County index., 1884-01-25
A wide Differences.

Which the price OF <he different grades
varies SO greatly as in the case of butter. |
One day last week the quotations for |
butter in the Chicago market ranged all
the way from nine to thirty-fits eeffts |
per pound. Even these figures do not |
show the extreme in the price of butter
Large quantities %efe made in the West |
that could not be sold for cash. ut the
lowest price named. 1t was disposed
of by way of barter for anything il
would. bring. Very large quantities OF
6hbice butter never find their way to the
general market The proprietors OF
some creafneries and private dsiries sell
the butter they produce directly TO con.
sumGfs ard obtain fifty cents pound
for it during the entire season. lt has
been repeatedly shown thst it costs as
much TO make the poorest as the best
bt,tter; y is likely that in the ajo.ity
of cases il tttsts more. Poor butter is
generally associated with cows that
give small quantities of milk, and eAtrs
| fine butter with cows that produce q
very large dnf9unt, The heavy mixers
stable their owners not only to make
much butter. btit 10 Sbtain high price
for it. The light mixers Only allow theit
owners to sell very small amount Of
butte at the lowest price. The history
| If po6r fnltter would show that q very
| large aniotint 6f hard work had been
expended on It. The efeam from which
! It was made was raised Wth difficulty.
The shtirning was long and very lAb0+
riOus operation, ifi which several ffieni.
bers of the family took part. Mitch time
was also expended in work :ng il with q
View Of getting out the buttermilk and
putting it in presettsble shape Little
time and labor, however, were Expended
in manufactur ng the butter that brings
the highest prices.
Like most old arts. for instance, the
tanning of hides and the making OF
bricks, progress in butter Manufacture
has been very slow As something an.
swering to the name of butter can be
produced by the exercise of very little
skill, many persons have hot thought
it necessary to ascertain the best
methods Of setting milk 10 obtain
cream. OF churni;tg II 10 produce but
ter, or of sailing and packing the prod
uct. They may be conscious that they
make poor butter, but they attribute il
to poor location for the dairy busi-
ness or to "bad luck" Perhaps they
endeavor 10 improve the quality Of
their butter 10y making one change
suggested by visiting d place where
very good butter is made. Perhaps
they invest in a new-fangled churn, q
tank for holding milk or patent
worker 1t is possible that they obtain
some better cows. 1t does not occtif
to them that the poor quality of the
butter they make is owing to no one
thing; btit to many. Only an expert is
able to toll them how TO proceed. They
might be able Ia obtain mitch valuable
information from treatise 6ii butter-
making, but they neglect 10 invest III
one. 1t is generally more difficult to
teach an art to persons who think they
are acquainted with it than to those
who have never had any practice. Hav-
ing become accustomed to old prac-
tees, we are reluctant to abandon
them even when we beeofiie a~afe tha!
hey are productive of very poor fe.
suits. 4 great reform in butter-mak-
ing was inaugurated in Denmark few
Years aGu. Danish butter sold lower
than that made in any country in Eu-
rope. The agricultural department si
the Government took hold of the mat
ter. and in fifteen years Danish butter
hlu ICDudillOII cACtlltHCe III
every civilized country in the world.
Girls were educated in the Government
dairy schools and then sent to farms
to do missionary work. They made
converts wherever they went. They
also earned high wages, which were
paid by the increased price obtained
for butter.
1t is likely that the dairy school es.
fohlicbn1 n in nan,,,o l.
to the material wealth of the country
than all the so-called agricultural col
leges in the United States have to ours.
A travelling dairy school supported by a
minister is doing most excellent work
in Ireland. The money spent by our
National Department of Agriculture in
making experiments in the manufacture
of sirup and sugar from sorghum would
State in the Union and educated one
person in every school district i'm the
mysteries of butter-making. Great per-
lection has been reached in many of our
creameries, and much very valuable in
formation on butter-making has been
published and distributed by our a,so-
Citations of dairymen. The art of max
ing choice butter, however, is neither
uHucISloOu nor pTdctlceu on 1nOSt 01
our farms. The facilities for instruc-
Iion are not good. 1t is likely that n
few apprentices could obtain admission
to our established creameres and enjoy
the opportunities to learn trade The
methods pursued, however, in these
large establishments are quite different
from those needed in farm-houses
where the amount of milk is limited to
the cows kept on the place. Our great
dairy establishments have demonstrated
what was doubted or denied a few
years ago, that it was not only possible
but entirely practical to make as good
butter in the West as in the East. The
climate, water and grasses are favora-
BILE to the production of good butter
Improved dairy stock is being intro
duced faster than in any portion of the
world. What is chiefly wanted is skill
in the making of butter. With the
great amount spent in the name OF
agricultural education, instruction in
making butter is sadly neglected. =
ChicGJO Times