CREAMERIES AND FACTORIES 143 



anything like so much as its market price for 

 consumption, which has seldom fallen below 6d. 

 a gallon until last year, especially where it 

 requires 2 J gallons to produce a pound of butter. 

 Let us refer for a moment to what has been 

 done in Ireland by the Irish Agricultural 

 Organization Society. Last year there were 

 fifty-six co-operative dairies with eight branches, 

 while some fifteen other dairies were in course 

 of formation. The returns obtained by the 

 Secretary of the Society show that the average 

 yield of the cows from which the factories 

 obtained their milk is 435 gallons per annum. 

 It has been pointed out that the average value 

 of farm-made butter in Ireland in 1894 was 8d. 

 a pound, so that, on the assumption that each 

 pound of butter produced at home required three 

 gallons of milk, the return per cow to the farmer 

 would be 4 i6s. 8d. On the other hand, the 

 price paid for the milk by the factories having 

 been -$\d. per gallon, the farmer contributing 

 received 1 los. 2.d. per cow more than had he 

 retained his milk for conversion into butter at 

 home. In each case the separated milk would 

 be utilized upon the farm, although we are 



