DAIRY FARMING DAIRYING. 489 



In the historical discussion it is stated that "Boston seems to have 

 been the pioneer city of the United States in the transportation of milk 

 by railroad," the beginning having been made in April, 1838. 



"To-day the business of transporting milk to the city by railroad is done by 7 

 concerns. Six of these 7 milk wholesaling houses have an association for bringing 

 about uniformity in methods of doing business and for mutual self-protection. 

 To-day fully three-quarters of the milk supply of Greater Boston passes through the 

 hands of these large wholesalers, locally known as 'contractors.' . . . ' 



"All of the contractors have cheese or butter factories in the city or country, or 

 both, for the manufacture of butter and cheese." 



The arrangements between the milk producers and the contractors 

 are described, and also the Milk Producers' Union, which is an organi- 

 zation of the farmers who sell milk to the contractors. This union 

 deals with the Milk Contractors' Association in fixing the schedule of 

 prices and other regulations, and has tended to promote uniformity 

 and business-like methods and to keep the price of milk quite steady. 

 The summer and winter prices for 12 years are given, showing remark- 

 ably little variation. The average "theoretical Boston price per can of 

 8i qt." for 12 years has been 32^ cts. during summer and 36f cts. during 

 winter. From this "theoretical" price a deduction is made for trans- 

 portation on a fixed schedule agreed to by the Milk Producers' Union, 

 depending upon the distance. There is also a deduction made for the 

 surplus milk, which is made into butter, and for which only the "butter 

 value" of the milk for the mouth is paid. This, together with "grad- 

 ing" the price in different months to prevent too large a surplus, is a 

 cause of much friction between the producers and the contractors, as 

 the application of the system is blind to many farmers. But the sys- 

 tem of buying all the milk that is offered furnishes shippers a market 

 for all they can produce and does away with the former ii convenience 

 arising from the irregularity of the amount taken by the contractors. 



"The cans are returned to the farmers unwashed and sometimes in a 

 very filthy condition," which has gone so far as to result in several 

 attempts on the part of the farmers to invoke legislation compelling 

 the contractors to wash the cans. 



Of the other one-fourth of the milk supply a portion comes in by rail- 

 road and the remainder is produced within the limits of Greater Boston 

 or in territory nearby. "Over 7,000 cows are kept in Greater Boston." 



The milk supply of Providence, the second city in size in New England, 

 is nearly all produced within 20 miles of the city. About 75,000 qt. per 

 day, or 27,375,000 qt. per year, is used. 



"The selling of milk from stores is more prevalent than in many other cities of New 

 England. It is estimated that almost half of the milk consumed in this city is sold 

 from stores instead of being delivered from house to house by peddlers. . . . Milk 

 is from 12 to 48 hours old when it reaches the consumers in Providence." 



The supplies of several other cities are briefly noted, although for the 

 most part they present no novel features. 



