Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-10-20
WHY THE CREAMERY CLOSED.
IShenandnah SentineIl

lSnena9QOan SeNIluei.
Strange as it may sound the shutting
down of the creamery is an evidence
of prosperity. OF course it closed for
want of milk, but why could not the
milk be obtained? We talked with a
number of farmers. Saturday, on this
very point and in nearly every case the
underlying reason given was that
farmers do not want to milk the cows
and fool with milk cans. They look on
such work about as they do raising
| garden sass, good enough for women
and children but too small a business
for men. They don't have to doit En-
gagged in farming on large scale-rais-
ling great crops of corn, feeding more
or less hogs and cattle for the market
and INDUCING in fancy stock as fine
| art, they have no time or inclination
to dabble in milk. They prefer to let
! the calves do the milking and sell the
calves at SIS or $50 each. It's less trouble
In short our farmers are too We'll off
| too Irresponsible give attention to the
creamery in such a way as to make 1t
a success.
In poorer community or in local-
| ity where the soil is less generous. the
creamery pays because farmers give 1t
| paramount attention. 1t is true the long
drought and drying up of the pastures
/ precipitated the shutting down of the
/ creamery With abaundant rains and
consequent grass it might have lived on
/ through the fall and winter but would
/ have been d Sickly existence for the
4 reasons we have given. Yet 1t has paid.
| 1t closed with good sum in the treas
| ury. And 1t paid the stockholders.
/ w. H. McCulloch has been in it since he
/ started. turned all his milk over to
4 the creamery and got his butter for
| table use from it and Keeping strict
/ account he is just as we'll off and saved
! all the labor and trouble and expense
/ of caring for the milk, churning and
/ marketing the butter-no small matter
/ in farm house.
1t may start up again in the spring
but we doubt it. They don't thrive in
/ this part of Iowa. Southwest Iowa is
] dotted with dead and dying creameries.
/ Esq. Moody says that in western Ne
| braska and further west they are sue
| cess and he met farmers who hauled
! their milk fifteen and eighteen miles
and have been doing SO for years. But
| from the report of the state dairy COM
/ missioner Just out we notice that the
number of creameries in Iowa has de-
1 creased from 793 in 1898 to 779 in 1899.
The number of pounds of butter made
Increased only from S7,56S,6ll to 1883,
Il $40.
:. The creamery. or butter factory,
properly conducted may be source of
profit to the circle or combination OF
dairymen who get into 1t but 1t Is
doubtful If ii is of any benefit to the
town where located. Butter and eggs
/ constitute large item in the trade
between the farmers and the town
while the creamery Is wholly indepen-
dent OF the town, shipping its product
to distant markets Town people could
/ not afford to buy it; indeed they prefer
the home made butter which will be
plentier. and cheaper without the
4 creamery Town people therefore do not
regret the closing of the creamery. The
4 Sentinel, however, would like to see a
sufficient number OF farmers take hold
of 1t to make 1t a success by pushing
y 1t with that intelligent interest and en-
terprise characteristic of them in other
4 things and so encourage the growth OF
the dairy interests in this section, im-
proving the stock, increasing the yield
of milk from 14O TBS, to 200 and 900 Tbs.
Il per COW. devoting more land to grass
and less to corn, thus diversifying the
I farm products and making us all the
richer.
SEPTEMBER WEATHER AND
CROPS.
[Iowa Weather Bureau.]
September was notable for extremes
OF hot and cold weather. exceeding al
previous records for that month in al