52 BUYING MILK AND CREAM 



too small, the farms too far apart, and the amount of milk 

 produced within the available radius of local creameries is too 

 limited to make possible the profitable operation of such 

 creameries. The cream station brought the market in these 

 undeveloped dairy sections close enough to the farmer to enable 

 him to readily dispose of the product of his cows and to insure 

 him with a permanent market. This naturally encouraged him 

 to keep cows and while milk producing on these general-pur- 

 pose farms was a side line only, it became a profitable side line 

 that invited attention and development. 



Cream stations which are operated by intelligent and com- 

 petent men who are interested in the development and welfare 

 of the dairy business, have proven successful and beneficial to 

 both the creamery and the farming community. In many locali- 

 ties, however, competition has had a demoralizing effect on the 

 cream station system, as many as half a dozen creamery com- 

 panies opening up stations at the same shipping point. This 

 has divided and reduced the cream available to each concern, 

 multiplying the expense of handling the cream and increasing 

 the cost of securing the butterfat. 



In a great many cases the cream station is merely a corner 

 in the grocery store or country store, largely equipped only with 

 a cream scale and a Babcock tester and lacking proper facilities 

 for the keeping of the cream before shipment and for the proper 

 cleansing and scalding of cans and other utensils. And the sta- 

 tion operator in these cases is the storekeeper, or his helper, 

 neither of whom may have any interest in or knowledge of the 

 dairy business. Nor does the storekeeper usually run the cream 

 station for the profit he may make out of it. His chief aim is to 

 attract the farmers, so as to secure and hold their trade on his 

 merchandise. In towns where there are several stores, each 

 store may represent a cream station and the cream received by 

 each station goes to a different central creamery. 



It may be readily observed that this type of cream stations 

 is not only of no benefit, but may become a distinct detriment to 

 the dairy industry, causing shortages of butterfat between sta- 

 tion and creamery, and encouraging the farmer in the production 

 of cream of poor quality. In the establishment and proper opera- 



