No. 4.] REPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 313 



The amount of total solids in tlie milk, where the charge 

 was milk below the standard, was as follows : — 



The price of Boston milk has been higher than for many 

 years. At the meeting in the spring, to fix prices, the di- 

 rectors of the milk producers union asked for 36 cents as a 

 Boston price, less an agreed "surplus discount" of 2 cents, 

 making a "straight price" of 34 cents. The contractors 

 oft'ered 1 cent less, with provisions tending to promote a 

 more even production. The matter was finally adjusted by 

 a compromise, by which 36 cents was made the price for 

 April, July, August and September, and 35 cents for May 

 and June. At the time of making the price for October 

 there were a number of protracted conferences, which 

 resulted finally in a trade for ody^ cents as the Boston price, 

 and 371,4 cents as the net price. In addition to this, the 

 contractors agreed that the word "surplus" was not to 

 appear in negotiations with producers, and that no alter- 

 native propositions were to be made. The surplus provi- 

 sions having disappeared from the contracts, the contractors 

 felt under no obligations to continue giving the figures of 

 receipts and sales, and consequently we are unable to get 

 that statistical information for this report, much to our 

 regret. In other lines of business, full statistics are re- 

 garded as essential to intelligent action. 



The following table shows the price of Boston milk for 

 the past ten years, the report for last year giving the 

 figures for eleven years previous to that. It should be un- 

 derstood, by way of explanation, that previous to 1900 

 farmers received a specified long price for what milk could 



