ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 209 



having the road working controlled by competent men, and 

 have insisted on the work being of a permanent character, they 

 succeeded in bettering their roads; in many such cases they 

 have graveled or macadamized the principal thoroughfares in 

 the course of a few years, and they have been able to do this 

 almost entirely from the ordinary taxes levied for road pur- 

 poses. Dairymen should therefore insist on better roads. 



Adjourned till 9:30 the next day. 



The convention met at 9:30 p. m., February 26, 1897. 

 Mr. H. B. Gurler in the Chair. 



BUTTER-MAKING ON THE FARM. 



W. R. HOSTETTER, MT. CARROLL. 



I hardly know how to start my talk on this topic. If I 

 should tell how butter is made on most farms I do not think 

 it would be a credit to the dairy interest. If I should tell 

 how it should be made it would be very much like making 

 creamery butter. 



But I must say, at least, one word for the butter-making 

 on the farm and its importance. The general impression is 

 that in countries where there are creameries, very little dairy 

 butter is made. It is true that very few farmers make a busi- 

 ness of making butter, but the great majority of them not only 

 make their own butter but a great many make some to sell. 

 My county (Carroll) is a small county and we have ten cream- 

 eries. Now, I doubt if 1 per cent, of the butter made in cream- 

 eries is consumed at home. It is shipped out of the county, 

 leaving the private dairymen to supply the home demand. 

 Now, if we just stop to think of this matter a minute we will 

 see the importance of this industry. 



There are almost four millions of people in Illinois. We 

 will say that two and one-half millions of these are outside of 

 the large cities and consume dairy butter entirely. I find that 



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