No. 4] MILK PROBLEM. 21 



scale in JSTew England. When, however, we find, as we do, 

 that the milk-prodncing capacity of a farm or herd averages 

 only 50 qnarts per t|ay, and for this is required the nsed or 

 imnsed time, attention, labor and business ability of at least 

 one man and perhaps a part of his family, in addition to the 

 use of money invested, we find a condition that, in my 

 opinion, is responsible for much of the unrest of the past, as 

 well as of the ])resent day, among dairy farmers, whether 

 producing milk for city markets or milk or cream for butter- 

 making at the creameries. This condition is found not only 

 here in New England, but also in many other sections as well, 

 where dairying is carried on as a side issue rather than as a 

 business. One of the slight variations in conditions in New 

 England as compared with other sections seems to be found 

 in the fact that figures generally credit the New England 

 farmer with obtaining a little more milk per cow than do the 

 farmers in other sections. An investigation of prices received 

 by producers of milk for large cities made by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture also indicates that the 

 farmers of New England receive as much or a trifle more 

 money for a given quantity of milk. As it is well under- 

 stood that no cows and but very few milk dealers are phil- 

 anthropists, these facts would seem to indicate that in spite 

 of all difiiculties and shortcomings the New England farmers, 

 individually or collectively, possess the ability to get a little 

 more milk from a cow, and, individually or collectively, a 

 little more money from the buyers of milk, cream and butter, 

 than do the producers supplying some of the other large cities. 

 In spite of these facts, however, many farmers who are favor- 

 ably located for dairying have, for one reason or another, 

 been keeping fewer cows, and many who formerly produced 

 market milk have stopped shipping milk to Boston. While 

 I am well aware of the fact that the smallest producers of 

 milk frequently make the most noise regarding their griev- 

 ances, yet there seems to be some real difficulty which can be 

 best expressed in the two words, " general dissatisfaction." 

 This difficulty is apparently infectious, contagious, chronic 

 and hereditary. It seems to have originated and been trans- 



