The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-01-13
VERMONT DAlRYMEN,
Detailed Report of the Proceedings of the
Two Closing Days - Officers Elected
Notes and Comments,

Notes and Comments.
Wedne sday mornings session was
opened with an essay on "Tbe Determi-
nation of Milk Values" by G. II. Olaf
fin, superintendent of Franklin County
Creamery. Mr.. Clefllin paid warm
tribute 10 Professor Babcock, of the
Wisconsin Experin ent Station, the in
ventor Of the Babcock test, and demon
stratt d that this invention had revolu-
tionized The dairy business, enabling, as
ii does, each patron of creamery to
receive his just due
The method of sampling milk at the
st. Adams creamery was explained in
detail, and some good advice along this
line TO patrons of creameres was
offered. Errors in sampling are to be
more guarded against than errors in
testing. New difficulties may be en-.
countered at any time and we should
be ready TO meet them. When results
do not appear satisfactory let us inves-
tigate The cause, and not hastily con-
denim the best known system of deter
mining the values of milk. Mr.. Claff-
Inns detailed description of the au-
tomato sampler used at the 81. Adams
Creamery was of vital interest to his
hearers.
H. b. Cutler, of DeKalb, Ill.,, who
furnishes certified milk" to the city of
\ Chicago, was next introduced to speak
on Uniform Methods in Creamery
Management" The speaker consid-
cred this the most impoi tant question
to solve in creamery work. With the
introduction of tie test plan came
great change. The Babcock test, in
the payment for milk and cream estab-
fishes confidence between patrons and
managers. 1t convinces patrons that
they are getti g ell the pay that is due
them. The want of uniform methods
in management of creameries creates
suspicion and distrust of the accuracy
of the work. The success of creamery
work in the future depends upon the
removal of such distrust.
Mr.. Vail enquirtd of Mr.. Gurler if it
was practicable for the farmers and
dairymen of Vermont to organize on
basis of uniform methods. Was
moral suasion sufficient, or would legis-
lation be necessary? Mr.. Gurler re-
piled that this was hard question.
The success of the work of the cream
cry men of Vermont depends upon
their getting on uniform basis, but
he hestated about advising in what
way. In his own work he had not ex-
perimented enough to be competent to
advise. There should be no necessity
\ for legislation along these lines. 1t
would be much better for the dairy
men and creamery men to get together,
realizing that their interests are mu-
tual, map out some uniform plan, and
thus pacify the element in every conf
muniiy that is demanding legislation
and state control OF these things. The
creamery men cannot get along without
the dairymen, but they should not be
on opposite sides of the fence, suspi-
cous of each other, and working. each
against the others interests.
A discussion of the subject fol-
lowed, in which Mr.. Gurler gave his
experience in western creameries.
Managers of different lcreameries had
been trained in different schools which
was one principal cause of lack of
uniformity in management.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
Creamery Consolidation was the
theme for discussion Wednesday after.
noon. Hon. Henry E. Alvord, chief of
the dairy division of the United States
department at Washington, was the
principal speaker. He said, in open
ing, that production is the fundamental
half of the dairy business. He pro-
posed to consider first the general prin-
ciples underlying the dairy product,
the cost of doing the work, and the ad-
vantages gained. Dairy manufacture
includes both butter and cheese, and is
of two kinds-domestic and CONNER
. cial. There is at present but little do
mestic manufacture of cheese, the fac
tory has successfully supplanted this.
Speaking of the domestic manutac.
ture of butter Mr. Alvord said this de-
pended largely upon private markets,
and the expediency or profit of butter
making at home must be decided by the
farmers themselves, after considering
their conditions and surroundings. AS
a rule the farmers of to-day cannot af-
ford to make their butter at home, any
more than they can afford to do their
own blacksmithing.
The actual cost of butter making at
home is usually very high, if the labor
of the farmer and his wife are taken
into consideration. In the cream gath
ering plan exact figures as to the cost
to the farmer can be produced, and his
profits can be fairly and accurately
ItChOueu. ut CTthtutIy CAL dS RUE,
make more butter from the same cows
and sell it for more money than can the
farmer at home, and the quality will
generally be better.
What the creameries ought to do for
any butter-making community may be
briefly stated They should be able to
make for the patrons more butter from
the same cows than could be made at
home, and OF better average quality.
They should be able to secure an aver
age higher price than is Obtained for
homemade butter This is all an old
story, but it will bear repetition and is
in force to-day as much as it was twenty
years ago. The speaker did not be-
lieve in hauling milk to the creameries,
the cost of doing this is too great. 1t
is not good business sense, and you
haul to the creameries four-fifths of
what is not wanted there, and this milk
L. - IL. L.. l.