114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



and tens of thousands of formers in those sections of the 

 country that are not half as well off as the average New 

 England farmer. That speaks well for New England 

 agriculture. 



Dr. Twitchell. One thought that just comes to my mind, 

 suggested by the remarks of my friend from Connecticut, I 

 must give voice to, because it will serve to clinch the point 

 he made. Six years ago the Turner butter factory in my 

 State commenced with three hundred cows. The average 

 product of those three hundred cows the first year was one 

 hundred and forty pounds. Last year the farmers, one 

 hundred and thirteen of them, received for their cream 

 between fifty-nine and sixty thousand dollars. Thirteen 

 hundred cows furnished the cream. The average product 

 of those thirteen hundred cows was two hundred and nine 

 pounds. It was raised from one hundred and forty to two 

 hundred and nine pounds in five years. And that is only a 

 part of the story. The best part of it is this, that the farms 

 within the radius reached by the cream gatherers would sell 

 to-day for from fifteen to twenty per cent more than the farms 

 one-half mile outside. That is the statement made to me 

 by the president of the company and the master of the 

 Maine State Grange. I tell you, gentlemen of Massachusetts, 

 it pays to put business into agriculture.- 



Mr. Fitch. One moment in answer to the remark of the 

 lecturer in reference to the power of organization. He 

 asked, "What has the Milk Producers' Union done here?" 

 I wish to put in two points. From 1882 to 1886 the records 

 of the State of Massachusetts show that the shrinkage in the 

 number of cows in this State was from one to four thousand 

 per year. The reason given and thoroughly shown was that 

 the price of butter products, especially milk, governed by 

 the price in the Boston market, had been in the hands of 

 speculators and middle-men until they had crowded it down 

 to a point where farmers could not make milk profitable 

 unless they had extraordinarily good conditions. In 1886 

 the aspect of things was changed, and the Milk Producers' 

 Union demanded a higher price. They obtained two cents 

 more per can. In 1887 they tried again, but they did not 

 obtain two cents more ; they kept the same price that they 



