862 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



The Laiterie cooperative des fermiers d 'Isigny is probably 



the finest creamery in France. It is situated in the town of 



Isigny, which has always been famous for its fine butter, so the 



creamery gets all the prestige of the name Isigny. It is owned 



by the principal citizen of the town, who runs it very efficiently 



on a more or less cooperative basis. The milk is brought to 



the creamery each morning by the farmers. It is weighed and a 



sample is taken out and put in a bottle bearing the name of the 



farmer who supplied the milk. Each week this is analyzed for 



butter-fat, and the farmers are paid accordingly. The creamery 



pays for the milk according to the price it receives for the butter. 



For the amount of milk that will make I kilo of butter it pays 



the price it receives for that butter minus i centime (I cent) 



a kilo of milk for the making of the butter. If the farmers 



want their skim milk they pay 2 centimes a kilo for it. Most 



of the skim milk is, however, used for making casein. The 



creamery receives, in summer, an average of 3.50 francs a kilo 



(30.V cents per pound). As it takes, on the average, almost 23 



kilos of milk to make 1 kilo of butter, the price of milk is about 



3.50 .23 



francs per liter or 14.2 centimes per kilo (3 cents a quart). 



2 3 



The butter-making is done under very cleanly conditions. The 

 cream is pasteurized as soon as separated, and inoculated with a 

 special ferment which starts the butter and imparts the proper 

 taste. The churning is done each day with the milk of the day 

 before. The best American churns are used. The butter is 

 packed in wicker baskets, each holding 10 kilos (22 pounds), 

 after being weighed and wrapped in linen. A layer of straw 

 between the butter and the basket protects it from the heat. 



Nearly all of this butter is sent to Paris, as that is the only place 

 where butter as expensive as this could find a market. Most of 

 the butter is sold by contract to the fancy restaurants and stores, 

 although at times some of it is sent to the public market. 



The butter is carted to the station by the creamery's employees 

 and is sent to the buyer by fast freight, which means twelve hours 

 to Paris. The charges for the transportation vary from 72 cen- 

 times a basket in large quantities to 1.25 francs per single basket. 



