296 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



In the art of manufacturing butter the American maker is 

 the equal if not the superior of the buttermakers of any country. 

 If this is true, then the chief defect must be with the raw ma- 

 terial which the farmer furnishes. With strong competition 

 from foreign countries, which must be expected at the termina- 

 tion of the European war, the quality of our butter becomes a 

 serious problem. 



Most every country is peculiarly adapted for some line of 

 agricultural pursuitr Great Britain is known the world over as a 

 producer of fancy live stock. This is because their people have 

 taken advantage of their climatic conditions and made live stock 

 a specialty. Some of our northern states have become noted for 

 the quality of their butter, owing largely to climatic conditions. 

 Any country that is adapted for the growth of clover, alfalfa 

 and corn and also has an abundant supply of good water, should 

 be an ideal place for the production of butter. Some parts of 

 the country are peculiarly adapted for the production of natural 

 ice and others are not, but that should be no drawback ,as arti- 

 ficial refrigeration has taken the place of natural ice. Very few 

 people, I believe, realize the importance of refrigeration to the 

 human race. Through refrigeration, we are able to carry our 

 perishable products from the time of plenty to the time of scar- 

 city. We in our northern homes enjoy the tropical fruits which 

 are carried to us thousands of miles through the means of refrig- 

 eration. I have eaten crisp and firm Northern Spy apples with 

 all their delicious flavors retained, on the fourth of July, thus 

 showing that science had triumphed over ordinary manner of 

 decay. 



Low temperature is one of the greatest natural factors for 

 preserving the quality of all perishable products, known to man. 

 Cream and milk are among our most perishable products, there- 

 fore, unless the animal heat is removed by quickly cooling the 

 same a rapid fermentation takes place and the product soon de- 

 teriorates. 



No manufacturer can rise very much in the finished product 

 above the quality of the raw material he uses, and this applies as 

 well to the manufacturer of butter as to anything else. 



