i66 agriculture; of maine;. 



a meeting and a free dinner, to which the patrons and their wives 

 are invited. We secure some of the interesting speakers on dairy- 

 subjects, to give us the most advanced thought and the results 

 of experiments being carried on at our experiment stations as to 

 the best methods of feeding and caring for the cows, ventilation, 

 the care of the dairy products, and whatever else may seem to 

 be of interest to the producer. This year we had for speakers 

 Prof. G. M. Gowell, State Dairy Instructor S. C. Thompson, 

 and ex-secretary B. W. McKeen. We have an orchestra, read- 

 ings and discussions, and try in every way to make it a pleasant 

 and profitable meeting to all. We also talk over the manage- 

 ment of the business with the patrons, in order to find out if they 

 are satisfied with the system that has been pursued and the rules 

 adopted for governing them, and ask them to suggest changes 

 that may seem to be desirable. The various questions are then 

 put to vote, with the result that we always get a practically unan- 

 imous vote to do just the things that we have wanted to do. In 

 this way we are united, since the patrons are working under their 

 own rules, and give their co-operation and support in carrying 

 them out. We enjoy these meetings very much and feel sure 

 that they are of advantage to all concerned and that the patrons 

 are much better satisfied for us to expend the money in this way 

 than to put it into our own pockets or pay it to them in any 

 other way. 



Although working under the rule adopted by the Maine 

 Creamery Association, of discounting defective cream three cents 

 per pound, we seldom have occasion to do this, and when we do, 

 we feel that the patron expects it of us and that all of the other 

 patrons have a right to demand it. There may be other and 

 better ways of interesting the creamery patron and improving 

 his products. We should be very glad indeed to learn of them. 



The last session of the Conference, on Thursday evening, was 

 also devoted to the reading of essays by students of the agricul- 

 tural department of the University of Maine, in competition for 

 prizes offered at the Dairy Conference held at Pittsfield in De- 

 cember, 1905. These essays were of high merit, and were lis- 

 tened to with much interest. Music was also furnished by the 

 students. 



