Sharp County record., 1890-05-15

rapidly to the very proper notion tha'
poor butter is a poor article al any Tune
and anywhere. There is little demand
for butter that is noe at least
fair quality, and every yeal trings with
ita greater necessity of raising the stand
ard of our dairy products. 1t woulu
seem as if every body would recognize
this fact, and we think every body does
The difficulty in the way of increasing
the supply of tirst-class butter, Is not
that all butter-makCrs do notreallze that
the consumer wants good butter, but the
chief difficulty is in supposing thaI
every body makes good butter. we pre-
sumo that it will not be extrayagant 10
say that there is not butter-maker Ill
the country who does not think that ms
or her butter is first-class. 1t may seem
at first thought that this statement Is
ridiculous but one thing we know: we
never have seen butter-maker VINO
thought there was any body living VINO
could make a better article of butter
than he or she made. Some of the most
horrible butter we ever saw was thought
to be most excellent by the maker
Now what we would like to have every
butter-maker and every cheese-m akeI
in this country do, is to find out whether
or not they really are producing as well
as they think. The dairy has been re.
duced to considerable of a science, and
the scientific principles thatare appllca-
BILE in it, must be understood, or at best
our work is the work of chance. 1t Will
not answer to say or think that our
methods are good enough because our
mothers adopted them. 1t makes no
difference what our mothers did. Inc
question of making butter and cheese
can not be settled by attempting to de-
eide it by what our parents did or dld
or did not do. If we are not getting as
good price for our butter as any body
else gets, there must be a reason for 1t,
and what reason can there be, except
that our butter is not as good as that
which brings better price in the very
same market to which ours is taken?
And if it is true that it is not as good,
why is it not? Now such questions
should cause us to pause and lnVestl-
gate. 1t is no disgrace to learn; and to
any one who has not kept abreast with
the progress of the dairy there is very
much to learn. Such person Will be
astonished at the progress that has
been made. We would like to have
every one who is engaged in making
dairy products, and who has not inveStl-
gated new methods and the application
of new principles, to begin the study OF
them, throwing aside all prejudices,
and starting out with the full determine
ton of learning all there is to learn.
The study of merits CT the
different breeds of COWS, ought
to be the first thing to do.
The loss to the dairy from keeping poor
COWS is incalculable. A poor COW is
mighty poor property; and if those who
are keeping poor COWS would take the
trouble to compare their profits, if they
have any, with the profits of those who
are keeping good COWS, it would require
but very short time for them to sec
what very great mistake they are max
ing. 1t is this want of investigation as
to the merits of COWS that is one great
drawback to the dairy. In fact, it is thf
neglect to keep debit and credit ac3
count with the herd that is the caNse OF
some people going on for years with
out making any thing from tho
dairy. As matter of fact there
should be such an account kept
with each individual COW, for it is by 10
means an unusual thing to find upon n
vestigation that herd contains indl-
yiduals that are not worth keeping.
But they are retained there from year
to year because the average is salts
factory, and the good COWS are hiding
the defects of the poor ones. The dairy
and our livestock enterprises will never
be what they ought to be until we keep
a detailed account of our outgOeS and
incomes. If the man with an unprollt-
able herd could be induced to keep such
an account, nothing would be needed to
induce him to get better herd, for
every man wishes to make money, and
no man will do business at loSs II he
can prevent it.-Amcrican Stockman.