148 BRITISH DAIRYING. 



dozen quarts, and the gross price is now is. 8d. for the winter. 

 The freight charges are 2^d. per dozen, so that the net price 

 is a fraction under 6d. per imperial gallon. 



Now, 6d. a gallon as a steady price would answer their pur- 

 pose well enough, as things go in the world, at all events in 

 three out of the four quarters of the year or, rather, in two out 

 of the three-thirds of it, the omitted third including the months 

 of November, December, January, and February. Sixpence a 

 gallon, " clear up," is not a ruinous price for milk during eight 

 out of the twelve months as indicated. It is better than cheese 

 and butter making have been on an average for ten years up to 

 date. It is, in fact, just about the equivalent of 7d. per Ib. for 

 cheese and i3d. per Ib. for butter. 



But it is not the clear net price, for the milk-cans must be 

 debited to it, and also the wear and tear and time of men, 

 horses, and vehicles going constantly to and from the railway 

 stations. Sometimes the milk is returned, and carriage both 

 ways has to be paid ; it is then probably sour, and all that 

 can be done with it is to churn it, get out all the butter pos- 

 sible, and feed the butterless milk to the cows and horses. 

 Sometimes it never reaches its destination at all, is lost, and 

 the cans turn up weeks afterwards, or .never turn up at ill. 

 All risks, in fact, are the farmers' own, and all charges must 

 be debited to the gross price paid for the milk. Sometimes, 

 indeed, a dealer goes wrong, and the farmer loses a month's 

 milk. The winter's price was formerly 23. 6d. per dozen, and 

 the summer's 2S. These prices were a luxury, or would be 

 considered a luxury now. 



The trade itself is not a luxury, for it is full of annoyances 

 cans kept back by the dealers or the railway people, milk turned 

 sour and returned, or perhaps lost altogether, trains missed by 

 a minute or two, cans smashed by the porters, carts smashed 

 by careless men, dealers defaulting, milk short in winter and 

 dealers complaining, milk too plentiful in summer and dealers 

 disdaining, and so on, from year's beginning to year's end. All 

 these irksome things, however, could well be borne if only the 

 trade were really profitable. 



