The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-27
An Interesting Visit to the Fall
lon Creamery in Marin
County.
WITH COMMISSIONER BURBANK.
How the BabcoCk Test Appraises
Milk and Interests the
RancherS.


replied in the little State of Vermont, and
the company has $150,0OO capital and in
the height of the milking season receives
the cream from the milk of $4,000 cows.
1t has separators at most of the railroad
stations within seventy-five miles of the
creamery, and the milk is delivered to the
Swimming station and the cream shipped
in cans to the creamery every day. One of
the California State Dairy Commissioners
estimates that there are in this State
100000 mich COWS, and the CALL, which is
always to the front and speaks for all,
realizing the Importance of this industry,
proposes to give up some of its valuable
space to the dairy interests of the State.
OF course these articles will be no fancy
sketches, as there is nothing fancy about
the hard, everyday life of the dairvman,
whether he produces milk for the City
market, the creamery, or whether to be
made into butter and cheese at the ranch.
1t is quite pleasant to take the s A. NJ.
Sausalito boat and transfer TO the North
Pacific Coast train for Tomales, fifty-five
miles from San Francisco. 1t is little
over three hours ride through beautiful
Marin County, noted for its fine grazing
lands, large dairies and large-hearted
dairymen, and one feels well paid for the
energy expended as he grasps the hand of
one OF the leading dairymen of Marin
County, George w. Burbank, California
State Dairy Commissioner Marin County
Supervisor for over twelve consecutive
years, and also president and manager of
the Fallon Creamery Company, the largest
creamery in the county, located at Gritfins,
two and half miles from Tomales, on the
narrow-guage road. The last Legislature
passed an act prohibiting the coloring of
oleomargarine, and also providing, under
! L. i
as butter; also creating State Dairy Com
mission and making an appropriation for
necessary expenses of the same; and it is
a fact that little, if any. oleo is now
manufactured at Baden or any other
place on the coast, and none has been
on sale since May l, at which time the law
went into effect. No doubt the low price
OF butter has had something to do with
driving this bogus butter ont of the mar
ket, as it cannot be manufactured at
profit and sold at less than 10 cents a
pound, and as it is no better than inferior
butter consumers take the butter at low
price in preference to the bogus butter.
The Fallon Creamery Company was
organized and buildings erected in 1892.
They commenced receiving milk May 80 of
that year and have continued every day
since, except twenty DAYS when they were
closed down for repairs. No matter
whether the patrons are going to church
on Sunday or to funeral or a wedding on
a week day the milk must go to the cream
cry first, and when this is kept up 365 days
in year the dairymen get so used to i
that they feel lonesome if they have to
stop. The creamery receives the milk
from sixty patrons owning 1000 cows, and
in the month of May they received over
10000 pounds of milk, which was manu-
featured either into butter or full cream
cheese. The factory building is 40x65 feet,
two stories and basement, the latter having
a cement floor.
The buildings are complete in every way
and admirably adapted for butter and
cheese making. 1t Will be we'll for dairy
men erecting new creameries to inspect
this one before deciding on plans. They
use one large-size Alpha No. l separator
and two No. Us, the capacity Of all of them
being 1000 pounds of milk an hour, but
they are stall short Of separator capacity in
the height OF the milking season, and will
put in another large one next year. They
have ten-horse power engine and TWENTY
horse power boiler, but another boiler
must be added another season. They have
three milk-receiving watts of 800 gallons
each; two cheesevats, same size; one Ma
tional butter-worker of $50 pounds ca
pacity; one power trunk churn 400 gal
Ions, and all the necessary Quitting to
manufacture the milk into butter and
cheese in first-class workmanlike manner,
and there is no butter that stands higher
in the market for quality or sells for q
higher price than Fallon Creamery brand
They use the Babcock test for both butter
and cheese, and credit the milk as
tested. During the month of May their
daily output was 1900 pounds of butter and
forty cheese weighing twenty-five pounds
each. The butter is largely made into
squares, sixty of them weighing hundred
pounds, and is consigned to one of the
largest commission houses in San Fran
cisco. They have also packed considerable
butter in spruce tubs for the Los Angeles
and Eastern markets, and at the present
time have orders ahead for large amount
of butter. The cheese sells readily, and,
being full-cream, is in demand at the
highest quotation. They have 10000
pounds of cheese on the shelves, but recent
orders will take it all. The sales of butter
Melted them for the month of May Is
cents pound at the creamery, whether
in squares or solid packed, but at the
present time they are getting considerable
advance on this price, as butter has adj
yanceu in the San Francisco market.
The company has an authorized capital
OF $4,000 the stock being held by the
dairymen in the vicinity of the creamery.
The directors manage the creamery
through Charles G. Williams, superin-
tendent and cheesemaker, who learned his
trade in Ohio and is a very competent
man for the position. The entire plant
cost ABOUT SlZ,0UO, the buildings beng
erected by day work and the Quitting
purchased in the open market from
different houses on the coast and in
Chicago The company have never paid
any dividend on the stock, but have used
the profits to enlarge and increase their
capacity, and as there are dairymen not in
the combine who are anxious to patronize
them another year the creamery must be
again enlarged or Swimming stations
thrown out to take the milk from another
thousand cows. The larger the creamery
the less the cost of manufacturing the
product, and as the profits of dairying are
small, they must watch every opportunity
of increasing those profits, or go out of the
business.
This creamery is one of the few in the
State which makes price on the first day
of each month for all the milk delivered
during that month. This price is based on
the San Francisco market, and the direc-
tors meet and make the price, which is
duly posted on the creamery bulletin, and
also based on milk yielding per cent
butter fat, Babcock test. During the year
1894 the lowest price paid for milk was rs
cents per 100 and the highest 81 %; but as
butter has sold lower this season the low
est price has been 80 cents for 100 pounds
of milk and the highest price will not