Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-08-22

Huron. s. d.. Special, Aug. 14-The
/ proverb. Its an Ill wind .ha. blows no
body good" applies peculiarly to South Da-
kota at the present moment. The hard
times of the last few years have blown
two things-creameries and irr~igation-to
l he state, both of which combined are likely,
within a short period, to put the state
iii AN agricultural basis SO solid that 1t can
compete successfully with any state in the
lnioL. The decree that went forth In al
early age of the world, I'm the sweat OF thy
brow shalt thou eat bread all the days Of
thy life,' is by no means a congenial de-
cree In the end OF the nineteenth century,
but when 1t Is impossible to eat bread
otherwise, men make up their minds to rise
boldly to the occasion and learn TO disre-
gard the ~trickling sweat drops.
Irrigation and creameries involve con-
siderable work, contrasted with the carly
days OF wheat farming exclusively, but the
way In which the money comes In by these
means, makes work light The growth and
multiplication of In South Da-
kota, In the last two years, Is phenomenal,
and has worked such a change for the bet
ter among farmers that, with the exception
Of Irrigation, nothing Is more talked about
at the present time among the farming
class, and all classes Of the community.
But much more than talking has been done.
Three years ago a very few creameries were
built. Last year about thirty creameries
were erected In the state, and this year
sixty more were added to the number.
making over 100 altogether. Immediately
outside Huron city a creamery building was
put up in the early SOS, but immense wheat
crops of a series of succeeding years killed
the project, so that the building, till this
spring, remained unoccupied. Though HUI
ron, externally, bears almost no marks Of
depression, yet the pinch of hard times last
winter was felt by many and resulted In a
revival Of the creamery scheme. Rev. A.
q. McGogney, the efficient and popular
minister Of the Presbyterian church, who
had been generously distributing Goals
among the more needy, saw the necessity
Of something being done, and in concert
with a few business men and farmers, set
to furnishing the creamery building. In a
few weeks Mr.. McGogney, who assumed
the responsibility Of raising the money,
effected the sale of $1,000 worth of stock
In So shares, and the creamery was ready
for operation In the beginning OF April.
= Good Investment
There was paid to farmers during April
81, 700, in May 81, 100, in June s., 800 and
In July 81, 800. 1t is saIe to say that con-
siderably less than half that sum would
have been realized by the old method Of
making the butter at home and selling II
TO the merchants. The merchants, too,
are better pleased, because they are bet
ter paid for their goods in money, the
produce of butter, than by butter Itself,
though bought at half the price which
the creamery pays farmers. 1t was with
a growl that merchants took butter at all,
for many of them did not know how to
handle Ii and 1t was continually going
wrong on their hands, and. ut S or . cents
a pound even, often brought to the mer-
chants a money loss, The Huron farm
ers, in the three months Of the creamery's
history, have netted about 10 cents a
pound for their butter, which Is nearly
double IT. price they could otherwise real
lie. and the separator gives them at least
from 10 to Is per cent more butter than
they would have by ordinary churnlns.
The creamery has been getting 10 cents
n pound for it's butter in New YORK, De-
ing half a cent or a cent a pound more
than in many of the more Eastern states.
The Huron creamery Is worked very eco
nomically. Two men, a buttcrmakcr and an
assistant do the whole work. The former
gets S43 a month and the latter $50. The
butter is made, shipped and put on the
Eastern market at a cost of 4 cents u
pound to the farmer, and the creamery as
soc'ation has now on hand as a sinking
fund a sum of 5000. The stockholders are
certain Of 10 per cent interest on the IN
vestment. The townspeople at hrst Fought
shy of 10 cents q pound for creamery but
ter, the sum which the creamery charges
them, but when the superiority OF the
quality became known creamery butter,
by the better off families, came into
general use. The farmers were at
first slow to take hold of the work. Prof.
Wheaton, OF the Brookings agricultural
college, was got TO lecture on dairying'
He brought with him a baby separator
nd give practical demonstrations OF what
the separator co I'D do. He then made q
round of the farmers in the Immediate
vicinity Of town, showed them the points
Of q good dairy COW and made Tor them
- - .A~A nNnnta1 ~ Annh nf tho
cows they possessed. He showed that by
creamery process each fairly good COW
would bring something like S3.25 a month,
or between $40 and Si5 a year In butter.
When this was made clear creamery en-
thusiasm rose to a high pitch, so much so
that though on the first day OF the open
ing of the creamery only 800 pounds OF
milk were sent in, before the month was
done the quantity Of milk had risen to lS,-
600 pounds. Illustrative Of the fact that
some of the more indolent farmers did not
take kindly to the creamery business, Mr..
McGogney tells this story: He was rea-
soning with o man who was very poor,
who owned cows and yet refused to go
into the scheme. He showed the man how,
by milking his cows regularly every night
and morning and sending the milk 10 the
creamery he could make at least $40 a
wear from each COW. But, said the
man. that would force me to be at home
every night and morning 10 milk my cows;
I could never bind myself that way. MT.
IMcGogney said to him: "Well, don't you
ever come to me again In winter for an
order to get Goals" The man in question
Is now q regular customer OF the cream
cry.
Some Lazy
IL Is q notable fact that, while there are
many splendid farmers IL South Dskots.
there are also a great number, chiefly for
nxners. who came out In the boom In the
first days of the state, who, III they lived
in the days OF Paul, would have been de-
barred by that apostle from eating, De
cause they would not work. A drive across
any OF the half-dozen short-crop counties
In central South Dakota just now reveals
here and there a deserted house not yet
taken possession OF by a new tenant. LOOK
around those houses and you VIII see no
traces OF a COW or anything else that would
involve every day labor. IL perchanee the
holding be a tree claim where the FARMER
was obliged to put In a certain number OIL
trees, you will find the grass growing az
high as the stunted shrubs, WIN cleaf
evidences Of those shrubs never having
been touched by plow or hoe from the dsy