Part II.] CO-OPERATIVE DAIRYING. 155 



strikes have undoubtedly served a good purpose; the pro- 

 ducer's side of the milk question has been brought before the 

 general public, the dealers have been taught a wholesome 

 respect for the producers, and a temporary increase in price has 

 been received. 



It is the opinion of many people, however, even of some of 

 the strike leaders themselves, that the question of better mar- 

 keting of dairy products will not be permanently settled by 

 strikes, but by co-operative action based upon the fundamental 

 principles of better marketing. 



The problem of marketing dairy products is, after all, a plain 

 business proposition. On the one hand, we have the con- 

 sumer demanding dairy products in the form of milk, cream, 

 butter, cheese and ice cream. This makes the market. On the 

 other hand, is the dairyman, with his supply of milk to dispose 

 of, in such a way that he will get the highest possible price 

 for it. 



Milk and cream are comparatively bulky products of a 

 perishable nature, which makes it necessary and economical for 

 a city to draw its supply of them from a near-by territory. The 

 fact that milk is used for infant feeding, and is a good carrier 

 of disease germs makes it subject to stringent regulations by 

 city boards of health. 



Butter and cheese are less bulky, and of a less perishable 

 nature, so that they may be transported long distances in good 

 condition at small cost. Therefore we find our great consum- 

 ing centers of New England and New York drawing their milk 

 supply from territory as near the city as possible, going back a 

 little further for cream, and getting butter and cheese at greater 

 distances, even as far away as New Zealand, which is halfway 

 around the world. In the case of all these products we find 

 that the consumer pays a somewhat wide range in prices as the 

 quality varies from poor to excellent. We must bear in mind, 

 also, that the price of butter and cheese must necessarily bear 

 a certain relation to the price of milk, because if the price of 

 milk is much higher than its value for butter or cheese making, 

 additional supplies of milk usually made into these products 

 will be attracted from the territory farther back from the city. 

 In Vermont, in 1914, we made 20,000,000 pounds of butter. If 



