62 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4. 



with these prices in the next six months. I understand that 

 certain things are already happening; that the price of milk 

 which comes into our cities as milk is so far above the price of 

 milk which goes into butter that, of course, there is a tendency, 

 obviously, for that milk going into butter to seek a milk mar- 

 ket. It would naturally do that. You and I, if we were pro- 

 ducing milk to go into a butter factory, and we were getting 

 two-thirds as much as the other fellow was getting, would nat- 

 urally try to seek the whole milk market. Now, that will per- 

 haps take place. We have got to face the facts. If it does 

 take place, then there is going to be a considerable overproduc- 

 tion of milk as far as the milk market is concerned. 



Mr. Harwood. Let me ask you right there, can that take 

 place under the present conditions in Boston? 



Dr. Gilbert. Let me answer that by asking you why can't 

 it take place? 



Mr. Harwood. It is up to the contractors, as good business 

 men, to take care of their surplus, and they must carry a cer- 

 tain surplus, as any business man. They should not carry 

 more than a certain surplus. Therefore they should cut it off 

 at a certain point. 



Dr. Gilbert. That is true. For the next three months 

 that is the only solution as I can see it. The contractors ought 

 not to buy more milk than they can use. But, of course, even 

 in spite of that, if you knew the big difference between the two 

 kinds of milk, that other milk is going to seek that market in 

 some waj^ or other, and it is going to find that market in one 

 way or another eventually. In the next three months it won't 

 do it presumably, but in the long run it is bound to do it. Of 

 course, if it does, if all this milk comes into the whole milk 

 market which is now going into creameries, what is going to 

 happen? There is a proposition which we have all got to put 

 our minds on pretty carefully. Two or three solutions have 

 been suggested. They are probably not complete solutions at 

 all. One is that, as has been mentioned, the contractors ought 

 not to buy more than they can use. I do not feel that will be 

 the finah remedy. I do not know what it is going to be. 



Mr. Harwood. The final remedy is to educate the people 

 to the truth; not put out to the world in books, pamphlets. 



