CHAPTER X. 



GATHERED-CREAM WORK. 



My experience in the gathered-cream busi- 

 ness began in the early days of the work when 

 all the cream was bought by the gauge, or 113 

 cubic inches, which was supposed to make a 

 pound of butter, no matter whether it was 

 winter or summer, nor whether it was raised in 

 ice water or in water at 60 deg. Fah. 



Surplus and shortage. We always had a 

 surplus in the summer and a shortage in win- 

 ter that more than balanced the surplus of the 

 summer. The shortage always came when the 

 butter was at the highest price of the year and 

 one pound shortage would be equal to two 

 pounds surplus in money value. I learned sev- 

 eral things in this work and it cost me some- 

 thing to learn. I learned some things that I 

 did not care to learn as it caused me to have 

 less faith in the honesty of some persons, and I 

 also learned that a patron could secure pay for 

 more than he sold without being dishonest. In 

 fact if he handled his milk in a way to secure 

 all of the cream possible he would secure a 

 quality that when sold on the gauge plan would 

 beat the creamery eight months out of twelve. 



