112 BOARD OF Ar.RICULTURB. 



THE DAIRY FARMER AXD CREAMERIES. 



By Prof. James Cheesman, Boston. 



In what respect does the farmer of to-day differ from his brother 

 of a former period ? The great majorit}' of farmers are tillers of 

 soil almost by tradition and yet there is a marked contrast between 

 the men of to-day and those who farmed ten years ago. It may be 

 the men are the same persons, farming the same lands, but none 

 the less, the change of practice has been so complete with those 

 working dairy farms as to amount to nothing less than a revolution. 

 It is not the winter dairy as we understand it to-day, so much as 

 the entire range of farm practice, that has been re-organized, at least 

 by those who take the lead in the business. Everybod}' now admits 

 that it is better so to plan one's operation as to even out the supplies 

 of farm goods so that we may have a regular supph' of fresh butter, 

 eggs and pork in winter as well as summer. On some of the best 

 managed farms the practice to-day is growing raw material in 

 summer to convert into animal products during the winter. Why 

 has this change come about ? What is the reason for thus reversing 

 the output of the farm? Simply this: The farmer has been 

 improving. Summer butter and eggs glut the market ; prices are 

 low and there is alwaj's a surplus to be carried over. This surplus 

 must be held till the fall or the winter, and be marketed just when 

 there is room for it, and this time comes when farm supplies fall off 

 in quantity and quality. 



How shall the farmer of to-day modify his practice so as to 

 enable him to even out supplies when the market pays best? To 

 answer this question we need not go to Europe, nor indeed to some 

 of those great dairy States out West. Some of your own farmers 

 in this State are answering the question. 



That we have clung to June butter so long is because we had 

 learned to believe that the midsummer product was nature's best 

 work. Modern dairy farming claims to make an excellent substi- 

 tute, if not as good butter, in the dark days of December and in the 

 bleak month of March, by skilled stall feeding and intelligent care 

 of animals. The modern dairyman has discovered that many of 

 the conditions of June feeding may exist at other seasons of the 



