116 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



" There is too much milk sent to the market." The farmers 

 replied, " We don't believe it." But, when it came to the 

 question of raising the price, those who bought it could say : 

 "Here on our desks are dozens of letters from farmers, 

 saying that they want to send their milk to the Boston 

 market, and they will agree to take the price that we offer." 

 I have seen a good many such letters, and I have heard the 

 remarks of fanners who came in. When we tried to make 

 the price two months ago, we said : " Our milk costs two 

 and a quarter cents a can more than it did last winter, there- 

 fore we demand a price two cents higher than we had last 

 winter." We thought that argument could not be answered. 

 We claimed then thirty-eight cents a can, and the buyers 

 offered thirty-six. Their answer was, " We are perfectly 

 sure of milk enough at thirty-six cents to fill the market, 

 and more too." " How are you sure of it?" we asked, they 

 turned right round and showed us the letters proving it, 

 and, more than that, we knew it before. We did not get 

 the advance, neither did we yield to them. We put it 

 before the Union to vote upon it, and they did not know 

 how well they voted. They voted not to take away the 

 milk, not to "strike," as some people would call it, and 

 refuse to sell their milk. A good many felt that they 

 wanted to do it, but there were three or four alternatives. 

 A majority voted against doing it. Why? Because every 

 farmer knew what the price was, and they knew that their 

 neighbors were trying to get their milk into market and 

 could not do it. Three weeks ago the heaviest contractors 

 came to me and asked me, " Won't you come with us on the 

 7th of November, and fix the price of the surplus milk for 

 October just as you have for the past two years? " Do you 

 believe I went ? Not very much. They had got themselves 

 into a trap. It took us a year and a half to get the privilege 

 of looking at their books so that we might be able to say to 

 the farmers of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, "These 

 figures are correct ; this amount of surplus has been put 

 upon the market, and these prices are honest prices." We 

 have done that for two years nearly, and done it against the 

 wishes and in spite of the contractors. Three weeks ago 

 they came to me and asked me to meet with the committee 



