306 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



dairymen of the border towns of Massachusetts to furnish 

 Boston with milk on the same plan that you are furnishing 

 it to Springfield? 



Mr. Brooks. If I should attempt to answer that ques- 

 tion it would be merely guess-work. I can tell you how the 

 plan has worked with us. We have brought into Spring- 

 field too much milk ; there is no question about that. The 

 peddlers who could not buy milk of the farmers of whom 

 they had obtained it before, went outside for their supply of 

 milk, so there was too much milk brought into Springfield. 

 We expected there would be at times, and we provided for 

 working up our surplus milk ; but this enmity on the part of 

 the peddlers and their desire to keep the thing going brought 

 in so much that we have had to work a larger percentage 

 into butter than we expected ; but as we cannot always sell 

 our skim milk to advantage, we prefer to retail all the milk 

 we can. We do not retail half the milk that is sold in 

 Springfield. 



Mr. . Your cans are returned to you clean? 



Mr. Brooks. They are. 



Mr. . That is worth something. I know more 



than one farmer's wife has been killed by washing eight-and- 

 a-half quart cans. I know an instance where I believe the 

 washing of cans was what killed the wife. As somebody 

 has said, the old man sold his farm by the can, and threw 

 his wife in to the bargain. 



Major Alvord. Although it may seem a little indelicatp^ 

 to say so, I would like to put myself on record in answering 

 Mr. Root's question. I believe that the farmers now produc- 

 ing the milk which supplies the city of Boston and its vicin- 

 ity can, through the New England Milk Producers' Associa- 

 tion, or some other association, sup})ly Boston and its vicin- 

 ity with milk without the intervention of any contractors or 

 middle-men, and can divide with the consumers of the milk 

 the missinoj five cents that we hear about. But I believe 

 that it would require an organization not only of men with 

 brains, but with a large amount of capital, prepared for a 

 long fight, because you would have a combination, small, 

 compact, with plenty of money at their back, to fight you 



