1892 
289 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
I.  W.  Rushmore  &  Co.,  of  Brooklyn,  milk  dealers, 
have  a  creamery  at  Norwich,  N.  Y.  They  pay  the 
producers  two  cents  per  quart  for  six  months,  begin¬ 
ning  with  April,  and  three  cents  per  quart  for  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  the  year. 
W.  W.  Weston  is  building  a  new  and  large  butter 
and  cheese  factory  at  Honesdale,  Pa.  He  has  been  in 
the  business  for  several  years,  and  this  is  a  movement 
in  the  direction  of  consolidating  his  work. 
A  Possible  Change  in  Milk  Freight  Rates. 
There  are  indications  of  a  disturbance  in  the  matter 
of  freight  on  the  milk  coming  to  the  Metropolis.  The 
Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad,  when  it 
first  went  into  the  milk  business,  or  rather  when  it 
farmed  out  its  milk  business  to  a  subordinate  organiza¬ 
tion,  inaugurated,  through  this  body,  a  very  effective 
means  of  building  up  its  trade.  It  built  and  equipped 
milk  receiving  stations  or  creameries  at  almost  any 
point  along  its  line,  where  it  could  find  parties  who 
would  rent  them  at  a  nominal  rate  and  conduct  a  milk 
shipping  business.  Under  this  stimulus,  its  traffic 
grew  from  the  smallest  to  the  second  on  the  list  and 
at  times,  it  rivaled  the  largest. 
In  January  last,  the  N.  Y.,  O.  and  W.  Railway  an¬ 
nounced  that  on  April  1,  its  milk  train  service  was  to 
be  extended  and  in  the  circular  announcing  this,  took 
the  opportunity  of  offering  to  “erect  and  rent  at  a 
nominal  rent  to  responsible  parties  ”  creameries  along 
its  route.  Pursuant  to  this  offer,  it  has  put  up  five 
such  milk-receiving  stations,  presumably  to  its  benefit. 
Of  course,  the  total  consumption  of  milk  was  not  in¬ 
creased  by  these  business  facilities,  and  what  one  rail¬ 
way  gained  in  business  was  lost  by  others.  Probably 
the  greatest  sufferer  has  been  the  New  York,  Susque¬ 
hanna  and  Western,  the  milk  traffic  of  which  has 
seriously  fallen  off.  And  now  this  railroad  is  kicking 
vigorously,  threatening  to  cut  the  rate  on  milk  if  the 
creamery  building  business  is  not  stopped  and  insist¬ 
ing  that  those  already  built  shall  be  rented  at  not  less 
than  10  per  cent  of  their  cost. 
Meanwhile  the  Erie  Railway,  which  has  not  built 
any  creameries,  and  which  relies  solely  on  its  natural 
advantages  for  its  milk  traffic,  is  somewhat  uneasy.  It 
has  not  made  any  particularly  pointed  protests  against 
the  matter,  but  it  has  intimated  that  a  partial  pro 
rata  freight  on  milk  might  not  be  undesirable — say  a 
rate  for  the  first  100  miles  of  20  or  25  cents  per  can,  an 
additional  10  cents  per  can  for  the  second  100  miles, 
and  so  on.  As  the  bulk  of  the  milk  traffic  over  the 
Erie  comes  from  within  90  miles,  such  an  arrange¬ 
ment  would  decidedly  redound  to  the  patrons’  advan- 
tage.  The  D.,  L.  &  W.  and  the  O.  &  W.,  on  the  other 
hand,  would  vigorously  oppose  such  a  plan,  as  the 
bulk  of  their  milk  comes  from  more  than  100  miles 
away — from  Delaware,  Chenango  and  Otsego  Counties. 
A  meeting  of  the  railroad  authorities  was  recently 
held,  at  which  a  temporary  agreement  was  reached, 
but  nothing  permanent  in  character  was  settled  on. 
Another  meeting  is  soon  to  be  held  at  which  the  mat¬ 
ter  will  be  further  discussed,  and  it  is  understood  that 
the  recent  advance  on  the  freight  of  cream  from  42  to 
50  cents  per  can  may  be  reconsidered. 
Philadelphia  Milk  Producers  on  Top. 
The  milk  producers  who  supply  the  city  of  Phila¬ 
delphia  have  Waged  a  successful  contest,  and  in  doing 
this,  have  established  an  excellent  organization.  They 
began  their  fight  in  December  last,  claiming  4%  cents 
per  quart  for  their  milk,  the  dealers  offering  them 
only  four.  To  comprehend  the  situation,  those  who 
are  familiar  with  the  business  in  New  York  need  to 
be  told  that  in  Philadelphia  the  freight  is  paid  by 
the  producer,  not  the  dealer,  and  this  is  about  25  cents 
per  can  of  40  quarts.  After  a  vigorous  fight  with  the 
dealers,  about  two-thirds  of  them  paid  the  producers’ 
price  and  suits  were  instituted  against  the  remainder 
to  compel  them  to  pay.  The  suits  were  decided  in 
favor  of  the  producers,  but  were  appealed  by  the 
dealers.  There  is  little  doubt  among  the  farmers  as  to 
the  ultimate  outcome. 
The  producers'  organization  has  now  about  3,000 
members,  with  an  average  daily  production  of  two 
cans  of  40  quarts  each.  All  the  milk  of  members  is 
shipped  to  the  company’s  agents,  one  of  whom  is  on 
each  of  the  five  railway  platforms  where  milk  is  re¬ 
ceived.  These  agents  give  bonds  for  the  faithful  tran¬ 
saction  of  the  business.  They  receive  the  milk  and 
sell  it  to  the  dealers  at  the  price  established  by  the 
producers'  organization.  The  price  now  is  four  cents 
per  quart. 
When  the  dealers  refused  to  pay  the  price  demanded 
by  the  society,  the  producers  were  directed  to  keep 
their  milk  at  home  and  assured  that  they  should  be 
paid  for  it.  This  has  been  done.  They  have  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  shutting  out  about  three  car  loads  of  separa¬ 
tor  skimmed  milk,  which  was  formerly  largely  used 
for  purposes  of  adulteration.  The  milk  is,  none  of  it, 
brought  from  a  greater  distance  than  GO  miles  and  the 
railway  companies,  very  wisely,  are  not  offering  to 
extend  the  train  service. 
The  company  has  a  large  creamery  at  (524  Race  Street, 
Philadelphia.  At  9  o’clock  in  the  morning,  its  wagon 
goes  out  and  takes  to  the  creamery  all  the  milk  unsold, 
where  it  is  manufactured  into  butter,  cheese,  etc.  To 
pay  for  this,  for  all  members  must  receive  the  same 
price,  an  assessment  is  made  upon  all  the  milk  sold. 
During  the  month  of  March  there  was  a  surplus  of 
about  4,000  quarts  per  day,  and  to  even  up  matters, 
all  milk  sold  was  assessed  one-sixth  of  a  cent  per  quart. 
The  company  is  capitalized  at  $10,000  in  shares  of  $5 
each,  and  no  one  member  is  allowed  to  own  more  than 
10  shares.  The  capacity  of  the  creamery  is  great 
enough  to  handle,  if  necessary,  20,000  quarts  of  milk 
per  day. 
The  officers  are:  President,  A.  A.  Slack;  Secretary, 
F.  W.  Wild;  Treasurer,  Austin  Griffith;  Superintend¬ 
ent  of  Creamery,  Robert  Crane. 
20-Cent  Butter  or  2%-Cent  Milk? 
W.  D.  C.,  Waterbary,  Conn. — A  short  time  ago  in 
answer  to  a  question,  The  Rural  stated  that  there  was 
very  little,  if  any,  profit  in  milk  at  2%  cents  a  quart. 
How  does  it  compare  with  butter  at  20  cents  ?  Some 
of  my  neighbors  tell  me  they  prefer  to  sell  the  milk 
than  to  undertake  the  work  of  making  butter  at  these 
figures. 
Ans. — Selling  milk  at  2%  cents  per  quart  pays  bet¬ 
ter,  for  the  time  being,  than  making  butter  to  be  sold 
at  20  cents  per  pound.  Rut  that  is  a  very  incomplete 
statement  of  the  case.  If  you  go  into  the  business  of 
selling  milk  to  the  city  market,  you  must  so  arrange 
your  dairy  as  to  produce  almost  as  much  milk  in  the 
winter  as  you  do  in  the  summer,  and  to  do  this,  you 
must  feed  heavily  for  nearly  six  months  in  the  year. 
If  you  sell  your  milk  to  a  butter  or  cheese  factory,  you 
cannot  get  an  average  of  2%  cents  per  quart.  If  it 
were  simply  a  question  of  selling  all  your  milk  at  2% 
cents  per  quart,  and  producing  as  much  or  as  little  as 
you  pleased  and  producing  it  when  you  pleased,  it 
would  be  fairly  profitable.  But  you  cannot  do  that. 
In  favor  of  butter  making  it  is  to  be  said  that  it  takes 
nothing  practically  from  the  soil,  while  selling  milk 
depletes  it  as  rapidly  as  does  almost  any  crop.  A  good 
butter  maker  in  these  days  ought  to  get  more  than  20 
cents  average  for  his  butter.  There  are  hundreds  of 
them,  yes  thousands,  who  average  at  least  25  cents  per 
pound  for  their  entire  production. 
More  Wide-Tire  Talk. 
A  Delaware  Declaration. — In  a  late  issue,  G.  C. 
M.,  Green  County,  N.  Y.,  objected  to  an  editorial  in 
The  Rural  of  February  13,  1892,  urging  a  petition  for 
a  law  to  compel  the  use  of  wide  tires  on  wagons.  He 
is  certainly  mistaken  when  he  says  such  petitioners 
are  cats-paws  for  wagon  manufacturers.  I  do  not  see 
how  the  latter  would  receive  any  benefit  from  the  en¬ 
actment  of  such  a  law.  If  he  had  taken  the  trouble 
to  investigate,  he  would  have  found  that  quite  a  large 
number  of  firms  are  making  wheels  with  tires  from 
three  to  five  inches  wide  that  will  fit  over  iron  axles 
and  all  the  standard  sizes  of  thimble-skeins.  The 
Quincy  Metal  Wheel  Co.  are  making  all  sizes  of  wheels 
for  thimble-skeins  at  a  cost  of  from  $3  to  $4. 50  per  wheel, 
the  latter  price  for  the  largest  wheel  with  five-inch 
tires,  and  there  is  a  small  discount  off  of  this.  If  such 
wheels  were  used,  I  hardly  think  we  would  have  such 
bad  roads  as  we  have  at  present.  I  have  wagons  that 
have  been  in  use  for  22  years,  and  I  think  that  new 
tires,  and,  once  in  a  while,  a  new  rim,  and  a  few  new 
spokes  occasionally  have  cost  us  as  much  as  a  new  set 
of  metal  wheels,  if  not  more.  I  consider  wide  tires  a 
great  advantage,  and  that  G.  C.  M.  would  be  benefited 
by  a  law  compelling  him  to  use  them.  However,  I 
agree  with  him,  that  a  State  law  compelling  good 
roads  would  be  a  great  advantage  to  us,  and  that  we 
could  well  afford  to  be  taxed  for  that  purpose,  p.  p.  w. 
Pennsylvania  Practices. — I  have  had  a  wide-tired 
wagon  on  the  farm  for  over  20  years,  and  would  not 
do  without  it.  I  can  plow  the  ground  and  commence 
drawing  out  manure  and  after  going  the  second  time 
over  the  loose  ground,  I  can  put  on  a  full  load  and  there 
will  be  no  ruts.  I  have  two  sets  of  wheels,  one  with 
two  and  the  other  with  four-inch  tires,  and  if  all 
wagons  had  wide  tires  there  wouldn’t  be  any  rough 
roads.  A  law  to  compel  such  a  change  would  be  one 
of  the  best  ever  passed  for  the  benefit  of  the  farmer, 
and  would  save  more  road  tax  than  any  law  that  was 
ever  passed  in  any  State.  Then  we  would  always 
have  good  roads.  Here,  in  Union  City,  Pa.,  we  used  to 
have  turnpikes,  and  on  them  we  had  to  pay  toll,  and 
on  plank  roads  also  we  paid  toll;  but  in  both  cases 
road  wagons  with  tires  three  inches  wide  paid  one- 
half  fare  while  every  wagon  with  tires  over  four 
inches  went  through  free.  When  asked  the  reason  of 
this  exemption  the  foreman  said  the  passage  of  such  a 
broad-tired  vehicle  did  more  good  to  the  road  than  the 
fare  would  pay  for,  because  a  wide  tire  made  the  road 
better  by  going  over  it;  so  it  would  be  if  we  all  had 
wide  tire  wagons.  h.  s.  l. 
A  Virginian’s  Venture.— Any  one  ought  to  know 
that  wide  tires  are  much  better  than  narrow  ones  for 
hauling  in  any  kind  of  country.  If  not,  why  are 
engines  and  binders  and  heavy  farm  machinery  pro¬ 
vided  with  wide  tires  ?  The  first  self-binders  weighed 
over  1,000  pounds,  and  the  driving  wheel  was  eight 
inches  in  width.  Put  a  two-inch  tire  on  that  machine 
and  it  would  not  run  on  dry  ground  if  light  or  the  least 
soft,  whereas  with  the  wide  tires  it  could  be  used  soon 
after  long  and  heavy  rains.  I  would  not  be  without  a 
wide-tired  wagon  if  I  had  to  have  extra  wheels  and 
change  when  one  kind  or  the  other  was  wanted  ;  but 
no  such  change  would  ever  be  needed.  One  has  only 
to  get  a  new  broad-tired  wagon  when  the  old  one  is 
worn  out.  In  changing  from  narrow  to  broad  tires, 
wide  rims  and  tires  alone  are  needed,  as  the  same  spokes 
will  answer,  as  there  is  no  more  strain  on  them  in  the 
one  case  than  in  the  other.  Indeed  much  straining  is 
avoided  by  the  general  use  of  wide  tires,  for  there  will 
then  be  no  deep  ruts  to  strain  the  wheels  as  they  fall 
into  or  are  dragged  out  of  them.  In  Maryland  no 
other  kind  of  wagon  is  used  ;  very  heavy  loads  are 
drawn  by  large  four  and  six  horse  teams.  These  can 
each  easily  draw  from  100  to  130  bushels  of  wheat,  and 
they  haul  100  bushels  of  stone  lime  for  the  land  over 
very  hilly,  rough  roads.  Tn  hauling  manure  and 
gathering  crops  a  broad  tired  wagon  alone  can  go  on 
sandy  fields.  Tires  two  or  two  and  a  half  inches  wide 
are  used  here  on  buggies  also.  Now  if  such  wide  tires 
can  be  used  with  advantage  on  vehicles  which  carry 
light  loads,  I  think  wide  tires  on  wagons  could  be  used 
with  still  greater  success,  and  the  roads  would  cer¬ 
tainly  be  much  better  and  the  horses  be  saved  much 
hard  work.  s  M  r  w 
Business  Bits. 
cost  op  a  House.— Apropos  of  the  statements  lately  published  In 
The  R.  N.-Y.  as  to  the  cost  of  keeping  a  horse  a  year,  allow  mo  to  say 
that  I  know  a  horse  (used  In  light  work  and  driving)  can  be  kept  well 
for  *75,  or  less.  Mine,  here  In  Danville,  Pa.,  cost  me  less  than  $75  last 
year  and  has  plenty  of  life,  though  In  its  teens.  I  buy  all  ray  feed  and 
keep  a  careful  account  of  the  outlay.  Last  year  hay  cost  from  $10  to 
$14  a  ton.  corn  00  cents  per  bushel,  bran  $1.10  to  $1.40  per  cwt.  a.  .;.  s. 
Children  Wanted  in  Vain.-Tiie  R.  N.-Y.  is  in  receipt  of  queries 
from  childless  people  In  the  country  who  desire  to  adopt  boys  or  girls 
from  the  city.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  when  we  reflect  upon  the 
thousands  of  almost  homeless  children  In  the  city,  the  demand  exceeds 
the  supply.  In  conversation  with  Rev.  Willard  Parsons  of  the  “Fresh 
Air  Fund,”  he  Informed  us  that  he  also  was  in  receipt  of  numerous 
requests  fer  children  for  adoption,  but  that  he  was  unable  to  obtain 
such  as  were  wanted.  The  parents  cling  to  them,  naturally  enough, 
even  though  they  are  able  to  but  poorly  feed  and  clothe  them.  Thous¬ 
ands  there  are  who  would  be  better  olf  In  country  homes,  but  they 
cannot  be  Induced  to  go. 
Some  Business  Corsets.— I  very  often  read  articles  on  different 
breeds  of  sheep.  I  have  had  the  Corsets  for  about  two  years,  here  in 
Chester  County,  Pa.  They  are  the  best  breeders  and  milkers  I  have 
ever  tried.  The  lambs  grow  very  fast,  while  they  are  fat  enough  for 
market.  Last  fall  I  bought  30  common  ewes,  and  put  a  very  fine  seven- 
months-old  Dorset  ram  with  them.  To  date,  37  of  the  ewes  have 
dropped  49  lambs,  as  largo  and  strong  as  any  one  could  wish.  w.  J.  b. 
A  timely  time  Table.  Mr.  W.  M.  Anthony,  advertising  agent 
Of  the  famous  “Burlington  Route,”  C.,  B.  &  Q.  R.  R„  bas  prepared  a 
time  table  that  Is  of  great  value  to  travelers.  On  one  side  Is  a  map 
and  on  the  other  such  a  complete  arrangement  of  stations,  with  times 
of  train  arrivals  and  departures,  that  It  Is  not  necessary  to  ask  a  single 
question  of  the  conductor  or  agent  1  In  an  article  In  this  time  table 
on  “  Move  West  with  Your  Manufactory,”  we  find  the  following  • 
“  Profit  on  manufacturing  In  the  New  England  States  Is  very  small 
profit  on  agriculture  In  the  far  Western  States  is  also  small.  The  West¬ 
ern  producer  Is  too  far  from  the  Eastern  consumer;  he  cannot  give 
sufficient  to  the  Eastern  producer  In  exchange  for  his  product.  Busi¬ 
ness  Is  based  on  an  exchange  of  products,  not  on  money.  The  farmer 
In  Nebraska  has  a  standing  offer  of  so  many  bushels  of  corn  In  ex¬ 
change  for  a  good  stove;  the  Massachusetts  stove  maker  offers  his 
stove  for  so  much  corn.  The  producers  are  far  apart.  Long  haulage 
and  speculative  centers  are  between  them.  The  stove  maker  wants 
to  eat  the  corn,  the  farmer  requires  the  stove  to  warm  his  home;  both 
must  work  very  hard  to  pay  the  intermediate  costs  of  the  exchange 
hence  both  complain  that  the  profits  are  small.  Exchange  of  profits 
is  the  fundamental  principle  of  all  business;  the  nearer  the  pro 
ducers  are  to  each  other,  provided  they  produce  diametrically  opdo- 
slte  necessities,  the  greater  the  profits  or  leisure.” 
a  bearing  on  the  winter  oat  question.  My  brother  and  I  here  In  On 
tario,  Canada,  own  and  work  a  small  farm,  which,  being  three  miles 
from  the  home  farm,  is  sometimes  neglected.  In  the  spring  of  1888 
sowed  a  field  there  to  Burpee's  Welcome  Oats.  They  were  cut  too  Sate 
and  shelled  badly.  Next  season  the  field  was  not  plowed,  and  the 
vo  unteer  crop  of  oats  that  sprang  up  was  very  conspicuous  and  an 
object  of  remark  to  many.  The  stand  was  so  good  on  some  spots  that 
we  thought  them  worth  cutting.  I  kept  a  diary  at  that  time  and  on 
referring  to  it  I  find  we  obtained  two  small  loads  from  the  piece  and 
22  bushels  of  oats  when  thrashed.  The  latitude  of  this  place  Is  about 
ThajYEeh  mln  1  d°  "0fc  thlnk  the  wlnter  of  1888-9  was  unusually  mild 
That  J  ebruary  was  pretty  severe,  as  I  recollect  it,  and  we  had  a  run  f 
sleighing  late  In  March.  “  a  1  "n  of 
R.  PHILLIPS. 
