22 THE BUTTER INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES [246 



of " spaces " of cream collected by the driver, who was 

 an employee of the factory. The Fairlamb gathered-cream 

 system was popular in Maine and the Western States, not- 

 ably in the vicinity of Elgin, 111., and in Iowa, 1 while in 

 most of New England and the state of New York the 

 Cooley plan found the greatest favor. As late as 1893 

 most of the creameries in Connecticut were operated under 

 the Cooley plan. 2 



The method of paying for cream by the inch or " space " 

 was more refined than paying for milk by the quart or by 

 the pound; but it is crude compared with the method of 

 paying for the percentage of fat found by frequently test- 

 ing the patron's milk with the Babcock tester which is now 

 in general use. While there was this disadvantage in the 

 Cooley and Fairlamb gathered-cream systems, the new 

 method brought great improvement in the operations at the 

 factory and had a very important influence in extending 

 the factory system. In the western states where the coun- 

 try was sparsely settled the collection of the whole milk 

 was an obstacle in the way of establishing a factory. 

 Cream, however, is less bulky and can be collected over a 

 territory large enough to make a creamery pay. These 

 systems also had the value of establishing a uniform 

 method in handling the milk and setting the cream on the 

 farm. Butter of a more uniform quality could be made. 

 It is seen, therefore, that the " gathered-cream factory " 

 marked a very important advance in the development of 

 the butter industry. 



1 Illinois State Dairy Association, in Transactions of Illinois Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture for 1881, p. 430. 



2 Connecticut State Agricultural Experiment Station Report for 1893 

 p. 145. 



