34 CREAMERY ORGANIZATIONS 



major portion of the stock, so as to have a large number of active 

 patrons financially interested in the creamery, and to thereby 

 make more sure of a constant supply of milk and cream, such 

 is, in fact, very often not the case. Much of the stock is often 

 held by townspeople and others who do not keep cows. This 

 fact has in many cases proven to be a contributing factor, 

 responsible for the failure of the creamery. It has constituted 

 one of the weak links in the fabric of the promoters' creamery, 

 the establishment of which not infrequently was made pos- 

 sible in localities which lacked the fundamentals of successful 

 operation sufficient cows and farmers imbued with the spirit 

 of co-operation because a sufficient amount of stock could be 

 sold to persons other than milk producers. 



The fitness of a locality for the successful operation of a 

 joint stock company with co-operative features depends on 

 similar conditions as that of the mutual co-operative creamery 

 association. 



The Proprietary Creamery. .This form of creamery organi- 

 zation refers to an enterprise owned or operated, or both, by 

 an individual or by several individuals who have formed a 

 partnership. In this case the owner, or owners, usually buy 

 the milk and cream outright at prices generally based on some 

 market quotation, as New York, Chicago, Elgin, San Francisco 

 quotations, and the prices offered are influenced also by com- 

 petition with other creameries. 



The patrons' responsibility and interest in the enterprise 

 are confined to the sale of their milk and cream to the creamery 

 and ceases with the delivery or shipment of the milk or cream 

 and receipt of the creamery's payment for the same on the basis 

 of its own quotation. 



The profits and losses on the manufacture and sale of the 

 butter are borne by the creamery, and, in the case of partner- 

 ship, are shared according to the amount of money invested by 

 each partner. 



The proprietary creamery obviously does not depend on 

 the co-operative spirit of the farming community. Its volume 

 is largely a matter of price offered, intensity of competition, 

 cow population, salesmanship, and financial backing. It is in 



