356 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



one of the most important. The process of manufacture has been 

 developed and improved until today it is purely scientific. The hap- 

 hazard, hit-and-miss ways have given way to the theories taught in 

 our dairy schools. Cream is ripened to a certain degree of acidity, 

 temperatures are watched closely, and in fact from the time cream 

 or milk enters our factory doors it is handled by skilled men and 

 treated, as I said, scientifically. I could go on and enumerate many 

 things that are decided improvements over the old ways of making 

 butter, but you are all familiar with them. 



There is one feature of butter manufacture, however, that has 

 never been greatly improved upon, and that is power. I'm not at- 

 tempting to prove to you that our present power plants are not 

 efficient, for they are, but I do say and have proved to my own satis- 

 faction at least that they are not economical. On the contrary they 

 are recklessly extravagant. In my recent article on this question I 

 covered the ground as thoroughly as I could, so it will be necessary 

 for me to repeat a good deal of it now. 



One of the most important improvements in modern factory opera- 

 tion is the kind and cost of power supplied. Our large manufactur- 

 ing concerns have expended thousands and millions of dollars the 

 past few years in an effort to reduce their power cost, and their in- 

 vestment is paying mammoth dividends. These business heads were 

 not looking for better power particularly, but for power just as good 

 at less cost. 



This is a subject which I have been giving considerable thought 

 and attention the past few months, and the more thought I give to 

 the cost of creamery power the more thoroughly I am convinced 

 that enough money is being emitted through the smoke stacks of 

 our creameries for which no value is received to completely re-equip 

 each plant with new and modern machinery every six years. 



Usually the most conspicuous part of a creamery exterior is a huge 

 smoke stock from which there is almost constantly arising smoke and 

 heat. 



Go on the interior and no matter how small the plant you will find 

 a 15 or 20 horse power steam engine and a boiler probably 10-horse 

 larger in capacity. You will find the Are is held practically from one 

 year's end to the other. Why? In order that a running head of 

 steam may be acquired more quickly in the morning and to avoid 

 freezing in the winter. You ask the secretary what his greatest 

 item of running expense is, exclusive of the buttermaker's salary, and 

 he will invariably tell you fuel. (In some plants it exceeds the 

 buttermaker's salary.) Ask him why he burns so much and he will 

 tell you that the engine can not be operated and steam furnished 

 by burning less. 



When I first began to stUdy the question of power I asked myself: 

 Why, if there is a cheaper method of furnishing steam and power, 

 haven't the creamery papers and authorities brought it out? Why 

 haven't these secretaries or managers studied out a way to reduce it? 

 I concluded about as follows: When the large number of butter 



