SUMMER MEETING, 1901. 269 



Horticultural Crops," which will appear later in our monthly. (See 

 index.) 



Prof. T. L. Haecker, of the dairy department, spoke of the 

 dairy interests of Minnesota. "Modern dairying in Minnesota," he 

 said, "extends over a period of only about ten years. Prior to 1890 

 there was no real commercial dairying in the state. I made a trip 

 throughout the state in 1891. I found no good butter being made 

 in factories at that time. The butter was chiefly noted for its va- 

 riety. The cream was raised, some in cellars, some in kitchens, 

 some in tanks in barns. This was gathered and carried sometimes 

 twenty or thirty miles, and it was poor stuff by the time it got to the 

 creamery. Butter makers then were not trained men. I did not 

 find a single factory then that was clean or fit to make butter in. 

 The result was a general dissatisfaction. The farmers were dis- 

 satisfied, the butter makers were poorly paid, and the creamery men 

 could not get good prices. There were one or two instances of co- 

 operative creameries where separators were used, and these were 

 giving satisfaction. These have multiplied until now we have about 

 seven hundred of these modern creameries. In fact, the growth has 

 been almost too rapid, and some creameries have been built where 

 they were not needed, and a few creameries are idle because they 

 were built where they should not be. 



"Some one at one of the farmers' institutes asked why Minnesota 

 made such good butter. This may be answered by asking why the 

 butter of Faribault county is so different from that of an adjoining 

 county. At the farmers' institutes in Faribault county we have had 

 large gatherings, while in the adjoining county we could not get an 

 audience. This will explain why Minnesota as a whole makes such 

 good butter. 



"The past year the cash receipts to the farmers, after defraying 

 the expenses of the manufactory, the net returns to the men that pro- 

 duced the milk, were between eleven and twelve million dollars. 

 We also have an income from the private dairies of about five mil- 

 lion dollars, and these, with income from other sources, bring the 

 returns from the dairy interests of the state up to about $20,000,000. 



"No small results from the introduction of modern dairy methods 

 is the relief to the housewife. It is often thought that the south 

 part of the state is especially adapted to dairy interests, but I think 

 the time is coming when the central and northern parts of the state 

 will do more work of this kind than is now being done in the south," 



Prof. M. H. Reynolds, veterinary surgeon at the station, gave a 

 short talk on recent developments in medical science, es- 

 pecially as pertaining to veterinary practice. As it is 



