No. 4.] REPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 401 



lines of railroads where milk cars run to Boston, farmers 

 have gradually withdrawn from the creamery and gone to 

 selling milk, except in a few instances where the creamery 

 has turned its attention to the production of cream rather 

 than of butter. Generally speaking, the majority of the 

 creameries are strong and in good condition, increasing their 

 output. 



The newer creameries do not always represent new busi- 

 ness, but a transfer of a part of the business of some older 

 creamery. The relative rank of the first 12 creameries as to 

 value of output is as follows : Conway, Amherst, Belcher- 

 town, Hampton, Cummington, Chester, Egremont, Charle- 

 mont, Northfield, Williamsburg, Greylock and Ashfield. 



The troubles from the surplus in the sale milk business in 

 Boston have been emphasized and become prominent through 

 the magnitude of the business, leading to a considerable dis- 

 cussion of the problem in the agricultural press. But the 

 creameries of the State are troubled in a similar way, though 

 not so emphatically. The amount of production varies very 

 much from month to month. Ten of the leading creameries 

 show a maximum production in June of 177,000 pounds of 

 butter and a minimum in September of 120,000 pounds, — a 

 variation of 57,000 pounds in four months. This is a shrink- 

 age from the heaviest production of 32 per cent, and presents 

 the same problem of uneven supply that troubles the Boston 

 milk market. Either there was a surplus of 57,000 pounds 

 in June and nearly the same in May, or there was a shortage 

 in the supply of that amount in August and September, and 

 of almost that amount in November and February. Several 

 creameries who have regular customers and keep well sold up 

 have been obliged to buy butter from Vermont or New York 

 to supply their customers when the home supply was short. 



The conditions of individual creameries are even worse than 

 this average. The Egremont creamery produced in June 27,- 

 000 pounds of butter and in February 11,000, — a difierence 

 of 60 per cent, or 16,000 pounds. Belchertown produced 

 29,000 pounds in June and 17,000 in December, — a differ- 

 ence of 12,000 pounds, or 43 per cent. Ashfield's percent- 

 age of difference is 52, though, as the creamery was doing a 

 smaller business, the variation was only about 8,000 pounds. 



