Thirty-sixth Annual Convention 935 



score between 91 and 93 per cent, and can depend upon the grade 

 keeping- up to that point, he can command the highest price for 

 such butter. Probably 95 out of 100 consumers woukl not notice 

 the dift'erence between 91 and 96 per cent, butter, if served on the 

 table. If butter is sweet and clean, free from mottles, has no ob- 

 jectionable odors, and the body is reasonably good, it will satisfy 

 the consuming public. 



Some years Rgo, when visiting the leading butter dealers of 

 England, for the purpose of ascertaining how the American butter 

 compared in the English market, with that of other countries, par- 

 ticularly with the Danish butter, which sold for the highest price, 

 I was told that sometimes they received butter from this country 

 that was superior to the Danish butter, but that our butter ran so 

 irregularly in quality that they could not establish a permanent 

 trade. 



On the other hand, the Danish butter, although not extremely 

 high in quality, was always uniform, or as one merchant said, " If 

 we sell one of our customers a dozen kegs or firkins of Danish but- 

 ter, we know that the quality throughout will be such that it will 

 suit his trade and he will come back again, and that is all that is 

 desired." 



I will briefly analyze the American butter as found in our mar- 

 kets. To commence with, we will take the package, or the Ameri- 

 can butter tub. In my judginent, it is the most abominable, un- 

 sightly package that was ever used for butter by any people. I 

 was asked a number of times by English merchants, why the 

 Americans persisted in using the tub. Owing to its shape, it can- 

 not be cut into prints satisfactorily, like the butter that is packed 

 in boxes. It cannot be packed in as small space for transit as 

 the square jiackage can. Also, the chances for breaking off covers 

 in transit are at least five times greater with the tub than with the 

 box, hence the railroads would welcome a change to the box. 



The difference in cost of package in favor of the box would 

 amount — I think I am safe in saying — to about a million dol- 

 lars annually to the producers in this country. We are badly in 

 need of a standard package that would sell in all parts of the 

 country the same. The Pacific Coast trade demands the box en- 

 tirely, while the East here wants the tub. One of our members 



