xii BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



There seems no immediate prospect of a material increase 

 in the sheep-keeping industry of the State. It is a paying 

 business, and there are thousands of acres of pasture-land 

 lying too remote from farm buildings to be profitably grazed 

 by dairy cows. These acres might support very large flocks 

 of sheep. These flocks would bring substantial income to 

 their owners and would save these waste places from again 

 becoming forest land after so many years of occupancy by 

 flocks and herds. The dog is the " lion in the way." 

 While we believe that the more flocks of sheep there are 

 the less likely are they to be disturbed by dogs, and that 

 farmers owe it to themselves and the community to utilize 

 these back pastures, we cannot wonder that they shrink 

 from the probable "slaughter of the innocents." When 

 dogs run at large in company, the old wolf instinct seems to 

 get the ascendency, and they are ready for work that would 

 almost shame their savage ancestors. 



There is no such sentimental objection to the dairy busi- 

 ness. It has been rapidly increasing for several years past. 

 The census of 1870 gave as the product of butter for Massa- 

 chusetts 6,559,161 pounds; in 1875, 7,922,431 pounds were 

 produced; in 1880, 9,655,587 pounds; in 1885, 9,685,539 

 pounds were made on farms. But between 1880 and 1885 

 the co-operative creamery made its appearance, and more 

 than sufficient butter was manufactured by these establish- 

 ments to keep up the ratio of increase. Statistics gathered 

 by us show that there are at present 24 co-operative cream- 

 erics in operation in the State, besides 2 co-operative milk 

 associations that use their surplus milk in butter making. 

 These 26 establishments produced at least 2,000,000 pounds 

 of creamery butter in 1888, which was sold at an average 

 price of 28 cents per pound at wholesale. To produce this 

 butter the cream from the milk of about 11,000 cows was 

 used. The cost of gathering the cream, making and mar- 

 keting the butter and managing the business, averaged 5^ 

 cents per pound, making it net to the farmer 22 1 cents 

 per pound, leaving the skim milk on the farms, to be used 

 in feeding calves and pigs. It will be noticed that this 

 method of dairying removes from the farm all the labor of 

 butter-making except cleansing the milk pails and cans. In 



