230 CITY MILK SUPPLY 



usually ignorant of the methods that are in use to protect the milk supply 

 and of the value of milk as a food. So it is good policy for the dealer to 

 become his mentor and interest him in both. It is common for dealers 

 to take this attitude and deliver illustrated lectures before church societies 

 and women's clubs, explaining the dairy business from the farm to the 

 consumers' door. Advertising literature is distributed, telling the merits 

 of the several brands of milk handled by the dealer, setting forth the 

 food value of milk and telling how to care for it. Often clubs of various 

 sort are entertained at the city milk plant, which they inspect and after- 

 ward listen to a talk on milk and are served a luncheon of dairy products 

 dealt in by their hosts. Occasionally trips may be conducted to the 

 farms. By such methods suspicion is laid and in its place hearty con- 

 fidence in dairying and dairy products established. Such work is expen- 

 sive but necessary. It is an element in the cost of carrying on the milk 

 business that the dairy farmer rarely thinks of but one from which he 

 reaps profit for it stimulates the use of milk. 



The relations between the farmer and the city milkman is delicate. 

 Neither can thrive at the expense of the other and yet the one is interested 

 in getting the best possible price for his milk, and the other in purchasing 

 it at the lowest figure. If conditions are such that the contractor can 

 and does squeeze the farmer, the latter will produce a low-grade milk and 

 in addition be disgruntled and antagonistic to the contractor and 'finally, 

 if he becomes convinced that there is no money in dairying, will sell 

 his cows and take up other lines of farming. On the other hand, if the 

 dairy farmers by combination and agreement are able to withhold milk 

 from the market long enough to wring high prices from the contractor 

 his profits are materially lessened, for he is generally loth to raise prices 

 to the consumer because there usually results a great outcry against his 

 supposed greed and there is also likely to be a decreased consumption of 

 milk for the wages of city folk are for the most part fixed and they are 

 both unable and unwilling to pay more for milk. Moreover, a principal 

 reason that milk is so widely used is that it offers good food value cheap 

 and raising its price brings it into competition with other foods and 

 consequently encourages people to use them. The price of milk is 

 fixed primarily on the ability and willingness of the city man to pay for 

 it. Out of his demand grows the competition for the farmer's milk. 



Different Branches of Dairying Dominate Producing Territory. Milk is 

 wanted for dairy manufactures and for city milk ; the products of the former 

 are butter, cheese, condensed milk, milk powder and ice cream and as the 

 latter it is consumed in its natural state and as specially prepared bever- 

 ages. It follows that there is competition for dairy territory between 

 cheese factories, creameries, condenseries and city milk plants. Usually 

 cheese makers pay least for milk so that the cheese industry is, broadly 

 speaking, built up in new dairy territory, or that which is located too far 



