THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA. 355 



MANOR DAIRY Co., 

 Arlington, Va., November 4, 1910. 

 Mr. J. L. WILLIGE. 



DEAR SIR: I inclose some more matter in regard to our dairy-farm scheme, 

 which will explain itself. I hope you will agree with me that this thing must 

 go through somehow. 



Yours, very truly, HERBERT P. CARTER. 



If I can get any further information for you, or be, of any use to you in any- 

 way, please consider me at your service. I am not particularly busy just now. 



ARLINGTON, VA., November 4, 1910. 



While the proposed scheme for a large dairy farm under the management of 

 a Washington corporation should be considered primarily on its merits as a 

 dairy business, there are other sides to the question which should be kept in 

 view from the first. 



If over a thousand acres are to be acquired within easy reach of the city of 

 Washington, it is important to have in view the possible developments from a 

 real estate point of view. 



A well-organized dairy business should make it possible to own a large tract 

 of land, earn enough to pay taxes and good interest on capital from the very 

 first, and at the same time pave the way for important developments in real 

 estate business. 



All property within 30 miles of Washington is likely to have a remarkable 

 increase in value within the next few years, but probably the most promising 

 part of the surrounding country, both for present purposes in the dairy busi- 

 ness and for ultimate purposes as suburban real estate, is the Virginia side of 

 the Potomac between Alexandria and Mount Vernon. 



The communications are already good, with the Mount Vernon electric line, 

 the Washington Southern Accotink, Franconia, etc. and last, but perhaps 

 most important of all, the Potomac. 



A company which owned land on the Potomac, with a good site for a wharf, 

 and touching the Mount Vernon Electric Railroad, and also property on the 

 Washington Southern having good road communication with its property on the 

 Potomac, would be in a remarkably favorable position for awaiting, and to a 

 great extent controlling, future developments. No more satisfactory location 

 for a dairy business at the present time could well be imagined. 



A wharf on the Potomac would probably provide the most economical and 

 satisfactory way of conveying milk to Washington. A kind of refrigerator 

 barge and a suitable tug would not be very expensive, and by this means the 

 morning's milk could easily be brought to town, bottled and ready for the 

 customer, in ample time for the afternoon delivery. Similarly the 'afternoon 

 milk could easily be brought to town in time for the early morning delivery. 

 The service, in fact, would be as prompt as the circumstances could require. It 

 would be most convenient to be independent of any railway line with its fixed 

 schedules ; the tug could start off whenever the necessities of the business 

 required, and the cost of the service would be insignificant. If the tug broke 

 down, another could be chartered at short notice. Weight and space being of 

 relatively small account, the chief objection to bottling the milk at the farm 

 and bringing it to town ready to be put on the delivery wagon would be removed. 



The wharf would be useful in other ways. Manure and also slop for hogs 

 and chickens could be hauled from town by this method at small expense and 

 prove a most satisfactory source of revenue on a well-managed farm. To most 

 farmers the cost of hauling such stuff as this is prohibitive, though the value 

 of the stuff itself may be judged from the fact that many farmers do find it 

 profitable to haul it several miles from the city by 4-horse wagons. 



Another great economy would be effected by using this wharf to bring the 

 large amount of lumber, cement, etc., which would be needed for building opera- 

 tions. In fact, when buying lumber on such a large scale, it might be possible 

 to begin a very satisfactory lumber business in Washington. There would be 

 an abundance of storage room, the tug could convey lumber to Washington 

 in large quantities at short notice, and there would be horses in town to deliver 

 lumber in between milk deliveries. A trade in vegetables, fruit, poultry, eggs, 

 and all farm produce would naturally form part of the trade when the farm 



