60 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Mr. C. M. Bull, the manager of the Springfield Milk As- 

 sociation, finds the same trouble there. In September the 

 receipts were 2,000 quarts per day less than in May, with a 

 demand of 1,000 quarts more; new farmers were taken on 

 to supply the deficit, which also increased the surplus in 

 the months of largest production. 



Cream. 



The sale of fresh cream is increasing rapidly, and within 

 the past half-dozen years has reached large proportions. In 

 many cases cream takes the place of milk. But population 

 increases so rapidly that we find no falling off in the con- 

 sumption of milk in consequence of the cream trade. The 

 supply of cream is handled by the regular milkmen, and also 

 by farmers who make a specialty of producing cream and 

 delivering it in the town or city by private teams or express. 

 The Boston milk contractors do a large cream business, and 

 several Maine creameries are now shipping great quantities 

 to distributing agents, who deliver it every morning to 

 families and to stores. Signs of "Fresh Maine cream 

 received daily" are common in many grocery and provi- 

 sion stores. In 1894 the Turner Centre creamery reported 

 to the State commissioner that it had sold 140,000 gallons ; 

 the Hampden, 56,175 gallons; and the Bangor, 10,500 

 gallons. Most of this went to Boston, and for it there was 

 paid to Maine farmers over $85,000. This year the Turner 

 agent informs me that cream has been shipped to Massachu- 

 setts to the value of $60,000. Livermore Falls and Mon- 

 mouth creameries are shipping 150 gallons per day to Lynn. 



A complete census of the city milk business would also 

 include large sales of condensed milk, for in a large city 

 like Boston many small families and shop girls live in lodg- 

 ing-houses, practising light housekeeping, and find con- 

 densed milk very convenient. 



An interesting phase of the milk business has been going 

 through the experimental stage in Boston for the past few 

 years, and is now so successful that it is being extended 

 into other cities. It consists in preparing from cream, 

 skim-milk and sugar of milk a modified milk of just the 



