American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1914-05-28
BY MATHEW S.


Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland
What the city woman needs is butter
that is standardized and always of a
uniform excellence-butter which
comes as fresh and comes as straight
as may be from the COW on the farm
to the table in the city dining
With the husband singing in her ears
the song of high cost of liying-and
what husband is not driven to such
songs in these days of high prices
she feels that she must get butter that
can be bought at something less han
the fancy prices charged in the exclu-
sive d~elicatessen shops to which she
is driven in her efforts to insure her
family a good grade of butter. Ask
her and she will tell you that if coop
Grafton will enable her to get good but
ter at a price made somewhat less by
the elimination of excessive distribu-
ton charges then she is heartily for
cooperation.
The city mar of course, wants a
good butter to eat. The farmer wants
to make money from his dairy. They
have been telling us in America that
direct cooperative marketing will give
each what he wants; that cooperation
has repeatedly accomplished these re-
suits where it has been tried in Ire
land, in Holland, in Denmark and IN
Germany. If cooperation will do this,
it is well to look into it for good but
ter is important-and financial profits
are worth while. So some of us are
over here in Ireland to see if co-opera-
ton really is a benefit both to the city
eater and to the rural producer.
The cooperative creamery here is
turning out good butter-none better
anywhere. We think we have found
why Irish butter is good, why it brings
to the farmer a good price in this city.
The butter is good because co-opera-
tive creameries use good methods Of
butter making; because their patrons
get good milk from good cows, take
good care of it, and deliver it in good
condition to the creamery; and lastly
because when once made it is hurried
off to a before it can get
stale. They get a good price for it be-
cause it is good butter.
On the other hand, the city gets it at
a reasonable price because co-opera-
tive marketing in Ireland is direct
marketing; because the butter comes
quickly and directly from the cream
cry to the city home with little added
expense for much handling by many
middlemen.
Why Farm Butter Is Sometimes Bad.
The writer remembers summer but
ter made from cream skinned from
uncooled milk and kept on the warm
pantry shelf during the long hot days
until churning time. It was hardly but
ter-it was in fact commercially
ranked grease" 1t brought six cents
per pound, and as butter was worth
less.
Failure to make good butter was in
evitable. Nor were the tired farmers
wives to be criticised for the poor re-
suits obtained. They had no facilities
for keeping the milk and cream clean
and cool. no facilities for making but
ter, no facilities for keeping it.
Cooperation Lishtens Labor.
What the woman on the farm most
needs is to be free from the burden of
the endless handling of milk, cream
and butter, from skimming the milk,
and churning the cream and from salt
ing and working and molding the but
ter-from all the labor entailed in the
production of homemade. handmade
butter. She needs it If she is TO have
any life outside the kitchen and the
milk room.
The laborious WEAKNESS of the I'M
eventful existence of the farmers wife
has produced many Candidates for the
insane asylums. More than one worn
out unfortunate has been taken int
custody because her household duti'
have chained her to a madden
monotony unrelieved by opportunity
for intercourse. and have made impos-
sible any thought above the churn and
the cook stove. One Wisconsin farm
er's wife was adjudicated by the our
ty Judge to be afflicted with insanity.
When the Judge announced the deci-
sion to the husband he was incredu-
lous. ut can't be she's got insanity
or anything else" he said. She's had
no chance to catch 1t. She hasn't set
a foot of the farm for Ia years and no
neighbor has stayed at our house long
elough to give her anything"