Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1898-04-26
USEFUL Alb INSTRUCTIVE
Extracts from the Forthcoming An
nual Report of Dairy Com
missioner Boardman.
STATISTICS ARE FULL OF SUGGESTIONS.
Preparing to Go to War II Necessary
No State Fair This Year-Con-
troversy Over a Site for the His
torical Building other Notes of
General Interest.
Especial Correspondence

General Interest.
Especial Correspondence
Des Moines, Ia, April 1s.-The annual
report of w. h. Boardlnan, state dairy
commissioner, is nearly ready for dis
tribution. 1t contains much that is USE
full and instructive, and its statistics are
full of suggestions. One of the most
significant is the fact that the value
of creamery property has decreased
100000 during the year ended June
30, 1897, Notwithstanding the increase
of 81 in the number of creameries. This,
says Commissioner Boardman, indi-
Gates the emancipation of creamery
builders from the creamery shark, !"
the fellow who went around organizing
creamery companies and contracting to
put up the creamery and equip it at
very high price. Farmers desiring to
build cooperative creameries have been
learning how badly they were swindled
by these spectators and have quit pat
ronizing them. The prices of creamery
machinery have gone down and the cost
of erecting the buildings has been re-
duced to business basis, so the value
of the creameries has been estimated
for this report at what it would cost
to replace them, which for the 773
creameries and 11S skim stations is 3d.
$50, 149.
The reports show that the average
Iowa creamery is operated 1912 months
in the year and that they average 113
patrons each, owning 964 COWS, or s.5
cows to each patron. Compared TO 1896,
this shows an increase of 9,o49 patrons
and 7s,s47 cows. Basing his estimate
on reports actually received from 447
separator creameries, Mr.. Boardman es-
Inmates the average receipts of milk in
the separator creameries of Iowa ut
2,442,e25 pounds, and an average pro-
duction of 109,911 pounds of butter,
which would show total for the 705
separator creameries of 1,722,721 ,125
pounds of milk and T7,4s7 1855 pounds of
butter, an average of 22.2 pounds of
milk to the pound of butter. Adding
to this the total of the gathered cream
plants, and the total production of
creamery butter in the state is $780,
355 pounds, of which only ten per cent.
Is consumed in the state. There has
been net increase of 1880, AL pounds
in the amount of butter shipped out Of
the state for the year ended September
30, 1897, as compared with the previous
year.
Mr.. Boardman makes some interest
ing observations upon the statistics he
has gathered in regard to the patrons
of the creameries and, the cows that
furnish the milk. He says:
1.-THE additional number of COWS contrib
uting to the production of milk to be man.
tactured into butter at our creameries Is
made up from two classes OF farmers. One
that has not been engaged in the dairy
business heretofore, and the other that has
manufa ctured butter on the farm. Thus
the creamery syst EN- Is fast decreasing the
quantity of butter manufactured on the
farm and by modern improvements is
increasing the quantity as well as the quail
ity Of butter throughout the sections that
have been without creameries hitherto.
As the number OF cows has not ma terially
increased in those sections Of the state
whore the creamery has been established
for some time, and as a general increase
in production has taken place, this in
crease must be attributed to one of two
has been disposing of his Improbable COW
and replacing with better one, or that he
has learned better how to feed for the pro-
duction of milk. There is nc branch of the
dairy industry to-day that Is as important
as the one here referred to, The Cow and
How to Feed Her The reduction in the
cost Of production is almost entirely in
the hands Of the patron. The cost of man
ufacturtng may be slightly reduced in the
future, through improved methods and con-
solidation of creameries and creamery ter
ritordes, but reduction in this direction,
though repres enting In the aggregate much,
cannot in any way be compared with the
amount that might be saved annually,
through the Improvement Of dairy herds
and feeding along scientific lines.'
No State Fair.
No state fair will be held this year,
but the business men of Des Moines are
trying to get up an entertainment, or
carnival week, to take its place. They
have not decided what it will be, but
they hope to raise about $4,000 to
spend in some new spectacle. A repre-
sentation of the blowing up of the
Maine has been proposed. The execu-
tive committee Of the State Agricul-
tural society met April IL and 10. The
business men of Des Moines had been
given until April IL to raise the guar
antee fund of $4,000 required by the di-
rectors of the fair to protect them
against loss. The raising Of this money,
with sufficient to give the Semi ON Sea
| carnival, was far from complete by
April 12, and the Des Moines business
men wanted more time. They did not
appear before the executive commit
tee of the fair, however, on the time
fixed, SO the committee, supposing the
money was not to be raised and glad to
be freed from the obligation to hold a
fair, declared it off and refused to re-
consider the decision when the Des
| Moines men assured them the guaran-
tee would be forthcoming. The Off
Gals Of the fair had heard so much OPP
position to the idea of holding fair
l - j a I