The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1899-09-08
BUTTER EXPORTS.
Why Our Product Is Not More POpu-
lar I'm England.

'" hS Ook AS 4Sot NAoAC opu-
lar I'm England.
The report of the bureau of animal
industry of the agricultural department
contains a special detailed report by
Major Henry E. Alvord, chief of the
dairy division of the department., re-
counting experiences in efforts by de-
partment officials to increase sales of
American batter in England. The ex-
periences of American exporters of but
ter as told in the tables Of export bust
ness during the past 25 years show that
the department has much work to do to
build up the fuctua ting trade in butter
across the sea. In closing his observa-
tiOns on experimental work Major Al
word says:
cit is evident that successfully to in
troduce fine creamery butter from the
United States and establish a demand
for it in British markets there must be
a considerable period of persistent eff
fort No regular demand can be built
up unless retail merchants Of desirable
class can be continuously supplied. The
department cannot establish this foreign
trade in high class butter or even COM
mence it, but it may do something to-
ward ascertaining conditions which
control such trade, present and pro-
spective, and assist in making them
known to many interested parties. !"
Major Alvord concludes that expert
mental trials Justify repetition of the
efforts upon larger scale and in a
broader fed to include besides butter
other perishable farm products which
this country has to sell
The detailed figures on the exports of
butter from the United States for the
past 40 years show interesting fuctua-
lions. Back in 1880 there were sent
abroad 80, 900, 600 pounds of butter, the
highest record for any year recorded.
The annual exports have fuctuated be-
tween 10, 600, 900 and 10000, 900 for
the past Is years. The fiscal year sales
reported show the following exports:
Years. Pounds
1895. 5,599 812
1896. 1898 913
400 oA,ofHHAf
1895. %, 800 025
1899. 20, 247 1897
AS having a special bearing upon the
experimental work of special agents of
the department the report on these
operations gives the statement of the
imports of butter into the United King
dom from different countries during
the past few years. The British people
have doubled their purchases of butter
from outside from 1886 to 1898, and
the 1897 figures are given as follows:
Countries. Cwt
Canada. 10y, 4O2
Denmark ......................... l,35f,|Zo
Other countries. l6l3,4I5
The butter exported was sent in vari
GUS sized packages, being claimed that a
package holding from so to so pounds
is wanted in Great Britain as well as
in this country. The report says the
chief objection to the creamery tub at
present in British markets is that poor
butter from the United States has
been so largely exported in that form
that this package is closely associated
in the minds of English buyers with
low grade goods. The packages alone
are insufficient protection, and there are
double Innings of parchment paper with
paraffin applied hot to thoroughly coat
the inner surfaces. The department
grails also include butter in prints or
blocks, and also in boxes of tin and pa
per boards, sealed suitable for ocean
voyages
The butter sent to London by the de-
partment was handled in that city in
various ways. 1t was found that whole
sale merchants there all had their IA
vCrite sources of supply, and they were
unwilling to admit that American but
ter was at all equal to the English,
Irish, Scandinavian, French or colonial
product. The prejudice against States
butter was noted as remarkable. How
ever opinions obtained from consumers
of the experimental export were nearly
all highly commendatory, although in
most cases the consumers believed the
product to be "best Dorset (English)
or Danish butter, the favorite brands
in high class retail trade for cured or
salted butter in London. In few in
stances by special effort dealers were
induced to advertise ''selected cream
cry butter from the United States. To
sell it readily as such they were obliged
to place the price lower than that Of
butter of greater reputation. Twenty
four cents was usual for the former and
90 for the latter.
Mixers and Milking.
There seems to be a great deal of dis