The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-12-01

The Cow, the Consumer and the Price
of Milk.-The advance proof sheets, Just issued,
of the December number of the Maryland
Medical Journal contain an interesting article
touching on many of the potential factors said
to be responsible for the recent advance in the
price of milk, which at present is of keen in
terest both to the good housewife and the
dealer in the tactical fluid. In part the article
is as follows:
ut is literally true that the patient COW is
behind the recent advance in the price of milk,
and, at the other end of the line, the resulting
shock will fall on the equally patient con-
sumner. Neither COW nor consumer will get
ANYTHING out of the rise in price. The
profits will be divided by the shreweder mid
dlemen. Late in October, while Father w in
ter was chasing Indian summer round the hay
ricks, the cow believed that winter had sure
thing of it, and shortened her yield of milk
forthwith instead of waiting for December
frosts. This brought the winter price of milk
into effect weeks earlier than usual. Neither
cow nor consumer know much about the win
ter price of milk. The winter price is always
higher. Possibly this is right; at all events,
it is customary.
zone thing is certain-if the dealer expends
one additional cent, he will add two cents to
the consumers bill, and unless the consumer
is quite satisfied to have the seasonal blunder
of the COW brought home to him in this form
he had better make ready his protest. Unlike
When winds are chill her spirits do not rise.
She becomes q dismal, shivering creature,
stingy with her milk and generally Indifferent
to the farmers interest The poor farmer also
becomes detected and neglects his COWS, but he
carries his shrunken quantum of milk TO the
station and makes his moan to the dealer.
The dealer, from long experience, know that
it is impossible to reason with the farmer, and
easier to reason with a consumer than with a
COW. So the farmer gets his winter price:
The arrangement is Improbable to the cow and
to the consumer, and, curiously enough, not
profitable to the poor farmer.
There are a few farmers who know that
COWS are amenable to reason and response BILE
to intelligent handling. They can be brought
into full milk in October or November, and
by careful feeding and housing can be kept
productive all winter. But the farmers who
cannot do this are so great majority that the
winter shortage never fails to occur, and the
increased winter price follows of necessity.
1.-THE winter price of milk now established
is higher than ever before, and one penny
in the wholesale price means two pennies in
the retail price, This looks like applying the
spur of necessity at the wrong end-to the con-
SINNER Consumers are in general as docile as
cows, and will stand still while being MIXED.
but they may kick if carelessly handled. There
never was better chance than now for cows
and consumers to face about and make farmers
and dealers stand up straight and answer ques-
lions squarely, OF else take tue nOIn: 1S .he
milk supply any better than formerly? What
has been done to make it better Nothing,
so far as we know. Now is it that more ty-
phoid fever has been definitely traced to milk
in 1906 than in any three preceding years?
IF it be true that dairy foods are more ex-
pensive than formerly, do cows really require
caulilower and rolled oats? Is it inevitable
that cows shall be fresh only in the spring and
farmers stale all the year round? Ifthe farm
ers need better stables, what of il? Don't the
stables need better farmers? If the cow that
dwells in marble halls deserves 20 cents for her
milk, what is due to the COW who spends half
a winter in the shade of an old apple tree
Tell us the truth about this business if you
know it, and if you don't know it, go away
and learn it. There may be some reason for
advancing the retail price of milk. What
is it?"