306 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



give us additional revenue of $558,699.80. To illustrate to you more 

 thoroughly. I will quote the difference between two of our large creamer- 

 ies. About two years ago one of the largest creameries in our State, 

 in a Norwegian community, sent to our dairy school for one of the best 

 butter-makers we had. I sent a young man to their annual meeting 

 who I considered to be one of the best butter-makers in the State. He 

 asked the company $90 per month to take/ charge of their plant. They 

 were quite anxious to secure his services, but the ninety dollars seemed 

 to frighten them. Another young man who was present offered to take 

 charge of their plant for $55 per month. The young man I sent over 

 stated to the board of directors that he could make more butter than the 

 fifty-five-dollar man. or enough over to meet the difference in wages. 

 The Norwegian directors could not see things this way. One of them 

 said, "The machine skims just as close for that man as for you, and the 

 cream sours just the same, and he churns it and gets just as much butter 

 as you can." so they hired the cheap man. Last spring they entered 

 butter in our educational contest, and comparing their make with that 

 of another creamery of about the same make, we found a difference from 

 the chemical analysis of $17.50 per day, or $445 per month, providing 

 each man maintained the same loss in skimming. The man who goi, 

 the large overrun got a score of three points higher than the other 

 fellow, and his butter sold at a half cent premium above that of the 

 cheap maker. The one company pays their maker $55 per mouth, while 

 the other pays theirs, $100. The cheap man made a saving of $45 per 

 month on wages and lost on quantity $445- a month. This brings to 

 mind the old saying of "a penny wise and pound foolish" method :»f 

 saving. 



A maker's wages is a very small item in connection with the cream- 

 ery business. Paying high wages does not always mean high skilled 

 work, but high skilled w^ork should always receive high wages. We 

 have been able during the past season to make butter containing 42 per 

 cent water, giving an 'overrun of 62 per cent, without the use of any 

 butter increaser. Butter of this kind, however, does not possess good 

 keeping qualities. The high per cent of water seems to affect the color, 

 giving it a dead appearance, and the butter is short in grain and does 

 not draw out on the trier. The tendency for such butter is to sour after 

 standing some time. 



In my experience as a butter judge, I do not believe that I would 

 be able to distinguish the difference in water content of butter between 

 10 per cent of water and that containing 17 or 18 per cent, but I could 

 readily tell when the water content got up to 20 per cent. Otir experiment 

 butter containing 42 per cent was sold on the New York market for 

 three cents less per pound than Western extras. Mr. Healy's comments 

 were that the butter was short grained and would not draw well on the 

 tryer. Now, I do not propose to discuss here any method of working in 

 40 per cent of water, as I do not approve of making butter of this kind, 

 but I do believe the question of a proper overrun is one of the mooi 

 important questions that confronts the manufacturer of today. We 

 expect to take up this question at our special short course beginning 



