1907.] DISCUSSION. 181 



There are others who can be educated or persuaded into pay- 

 ing more for milk that is of a specially good character. This 

 has been shown in the case of the sale of certified milk, where 

 customers have been gradually educated to the use of that 

 grade of milk, and ultimately a successful trade established. 

 It has been done simply on the basis of furnishing a milk of 

 guaranteed composition and cleanliness. 



Of course, another point in this connection is that if the 

 farmers would get together and produce a better quality of 

 milk and then insist, as other combinations do, upon a fair 

 price, there would be a solution of a large part of the difficulty. 



Mr. CoMSTOCK. If I understand the speaker aright in 

 regard to the scoring of milk for butter and cheese purposes, 

 you would take off on the fat a per cent, according to the 

 score on flavor. 



Prof. Van Slyke. That was the suggestion, yes, sir. 



Mr. CoMSTOCK. And consequently, the man who furnished 

 the milk would be deprived of a certain amount of pay for 

 the milk that he delivered? 



Prof. Van Slyke. Yes; for the fat. 



Mr. CoMSTOCK. So that if he delivered so much fat to 

 the creamery, and the butter maker took that and made it 

 into butter, is there any certainty that the butter that is sold 

 from that cream or fat is going to bring the farmer any more 

 or any better price? If there is not, the man who furnishes his 

 cream is consequently simply throwing his good money into 

 the hands of the "directors of the creamery to be distributed 

 to the stockholders instead of getting it himself. 



Prof. Van Slyke. That might be true in the case of a 

 man who was producing a milk of very high quality, but it 

 is probable that if the differences were slight that the quality' 

 of the product would not in the long run affect the material 

 very much. Of course, if that plan worked out practically it 



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would not need to be used but a short time before everybody 

 would be producing better milk. 



