393 



Dairying in Maine. 



of dairy products consumed on the farms amounted to £512,228, 

 and the total value of all the dairy products of the State is 

 given as £1,636467 for the year. 



The large increase in the dairy trade in recent years has tended 

 towards combination, and there are now in the State 54 " dairies," 

 of which 14 are strictly "butter dairies." These 14 dairies 

 manufactured 895,000 lb. of butter in 1901, or an average of 161 

 lb. per cow, and the average price obtained was nfd. per lb. 

 The butter yield per cow at the different dairies ranged from 

 103 to 267 lb. 



Twenty-three dairies which make butter and also sell cream 

 had a return of about £8 15s. per cow. The average value of 

 the cream sold was 2s. gd. per gallon, but several dairies obtained 

 4s., and one dairy 6s. per gallon, the price being governed by the 

 percentage of butter-fat. The Jersey cow is the favourite foi 

 dairy purposes. 



The labourers employed in 38 dairies receive average wages 

 of 5s. 7^d. a day. The collectors are paid by the month ; those 

 famishing their own team get £6 a month, but if the dairy 

 furnishes the team they receive £4 to £5. One dairy, which 

 employs 160 labourers, pays them uniformly £10 a month, the 

 entire wages for the year amounting to £19,200. 



Whilst there were 60 cheese factories in the State twenty-five 

 years ago there are now only 16 in operation. Eleven of the 

 factories are co-operative and five proprietary. The capital 

 invested aggregates £6,766. The whole product of the 16 

 factories in 1901 was 562,775 lb, of cheese, for which an average 

 of 5 ^d. per lb. was received. The wages of the 47 operatives in 

 the cheese factories, including the milk collectors, are about the 

 same as in the creameries, that is, generally from 7s. 3^d. to 8s. 

 per day, while collectors receive from £4 to £6 per month. The 

 market for the cheese manufactured is mostly local, and the 

 supply is not equal to the demand. 



The condensed milk industry was first established in Maine 

 in 1 89 1 by a company, which packed 2,160,000 cans of con- 

 densed milk, valued at £30.000, in 1899. The number of 

 operatives is 28 ; the men receive £2 2s., the women £1 4s. 

 per week. 



[Foreign Office Report, Miscellaneous Series, No, 584.] 



