ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 103 



invariably the same. Ascertain what your customers' taste requires, then 

 have a fixed rule. Weigh the butter and salt, it will be found more satis- 

 factory and certain than to salt by guess. The question is often asked, which 

 is the best breed of cows for the dairy V Here doctors disagree. Some ad- 

 vocate the little Jerseys, others the milk Durhams, some Holsteins, and so 

 on a 6 libitum. The old saying, ' that a good horse cannot be of a bad color,' 

 holds good as regards the cow. One of the best milkers I ever owned was a 

 cow from Pope county ; an abominably homely native cow. She formerly 

 belonged to one of my hired men, who seldom fed her, made her take ' pot 

 luck,' or steal, for her living. She got very poor, yet I noticed he had plenty 

 of milk and butter. It took me some time to realize that a creature that 

 looked so badly could possibly be so good. One great advantage of the 

 larger breeds is that when dry, or age has impaired their value, more is rea- 

 lized from the beef, and this is an important factor. 



''I do not think the difficulty in obtaining men who can milk well is as 

 great as it was a few years ago. Then almost every young man seemed to 

 think it derogatory to his dignity to milk a cow, but with iPlatonic serenity 

 allowed their mothers to take the pail, trudge through mud, manure and 

 storm, to squeeze a few pints fiom a shivering cow. A good milkman is 

 generally good in other respects. He is a quiet man, not given to loud talk- 

 ing and profanity. Gentleness should be the rule in a dairy ; any unusual 

 noise or excitement tends to make cows nervous and hold up their milk. An 

 unruly heifer will sorely try one's temper at times, and unless a man can use 

 self-control he has no business to attempt to milk. If so unfortunate as to 

 have a kicker, donH hick hack. A strap buckled tight in front of the bag and 

 across the small of the back, will destroy the ability to kick with violence. 

 But if all remedies fail, let the butcher try his luck. Care should be taken 

 to get cows adapted to the business. If to sell milk, the cow that is the 

 deepest milker is the proper animal, but if butter is the object, quality must 

 be the criterion. 



" In conclusion I would say that the person who wishes to excel in but- 

 ter-making should cultivate the virtue of modesty. Do not fancy your 

 butter is the Dest because you made it. Yet that is a very prevalent idea 

 among farmers. If your neighbor gets five or ten cents a pound more than 

 you, do not fancy it is from affection that the storekeeper or consumer pays 

 it. It is simply because it is a better, more saleable article. It must not 

 only be a prime article, but it must be in the most inviting shape. It must 

 bear the mark of neatness and care. Who does this will soon find a market 

 and a satisfactory price." 



Another one of our butter-makers is Mr. Wm. Kratzinger, president of 

 the Southern Illinois Fair Association. He is an observing, painstaking 

 dairyman, and therefore successful. He writes as follows : 



" I have been engaged in dairying in a small way for nearly four years, 

 and during that time I have kept from nine to twelve cows. I have tried to 

 make as good butter as is made anywhere, and to produce as much as possi- 

 ble from the cows. Starting with the best native cows I could get, I found 

 some very good ones among them. Have two of them now, and have tested 

 them several times. One will make one pound and thirteen ounces, and the 

 other one pound and eleven ounces a day, for three to four months after 

 being fresh in milk. However, the Jerseys are my choice for butter stock. 

 I have two registered cows and one bull. Have not tested the cows fully, 

 but am satisfied with the quantity and quality of the butter. 



'' To the question, ' Does dairying pay in Southern Illinois ? ' I say, ' It 

 does, if it is carried on in an intelligent and business-like way.' The only 

 trouble is there is so much poor butter made that it keeps the"'price of real, 

 first-class butter down. Our home maiket is good, and Cairo is also a good 

 market, but during the latter part of April and the months of May and June, 

 the markets are overstocked. Every farmer at that time h "S butter to sell, 

 and our home merchants ship their surplus to Cairo. The quality makes no 

 difference, it all goes, good, bad and indifferent. I have seen tubs of butter 

 sell as low as seven cents. As soon as hot weather sets in this indiscrimi- 

 nate butter making and shipping stops, and prices go up again. The reason 



