VOL. XLVII. NO. 1987. NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 25, 1888. 
_ Entered ' according to Act of Congress, in the year, 1888, by the Rural Nkw- Yorker, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS. 
*2.00 PER YEAR. 
THE CREAMERY SYSTEM OF BUTTER 
MAKING. 
Co-operative butter making is exceedingly 
popular in many sections of the country. 
Perhaps no other business organization by 
farmers for the purpose of pushing a special 
product has proved more generally successful. 
Stated in a nutshell, the object of the creamery 
or butter factory, is to consolidate the local 
manufacture of butter. The argument ad¬ 
vanced is that if fifty farmers will milk their 
cows and bring the milk or cream to some 
central point where an expert can work it 
into butter, fifty farms will be saved the ex¬ 
pense of providing dairy utensils, saved the 
trouble of handling milk, cream and butter, 
while the finished product will net more to 
the dairyman than he could have made under 
the old system. Such arguments are very 
plausible, and it must be admitted that in 
many instances, where sound business man¬ 
agement is brought into the work, they are 
fully realized. We have endeavored, in this 
issue of the Rural, to put the matter fairly 
before our readers, many of whom are already 
creamery patrons ; while others would, per¬ 
haps, be benefited by the establishment of a 
creamery iu their neighborhood. As will be 
noticed, we give not only the advantages 
of the system, but the disadvantages as well. 
There are two sides to every question. It 
may be safely stated, however, that with any¬ 
thing like skillful business management, the 
creamery will prove as profitable as any simi¬ 
lar business enterprise. The following notes 
are condensed from an extensive correspond¬ 
ence with creamery men. 
TWO PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS. 
Creameries are proprietary or co-operative. 
In the first case some man or company erects 
buildings, incurs expenses for plant, etc., and 
buys milk or cream from the farmers. In 
this case the creamery company is as distinct 
from those who sell milk or cream as is the 
storekeeper or grain buyer. Under the co op¬ 
erative system every one who brings milk to 
the factory is a partner, sharing in the loss or 
profit. The expense of starting and main¬ 
taining such a creamery is assumed by the 
farmers themselves, and the management is 
left to a board of officers elected by the pa¬ 
trons. Generally some expert butter-maker 
is hired to manage the practical details of the 
business, while the board of directors take 
charge of the finances. This system of co-op¬ 
eration is more popular in the New England 
and Middle States than in the West. In some 
cases the creamery is built by the farmers and 
rented to a butter-maker, who buys the cream 
as before described. Sometimes the larger 
creameries establish branch retail establish¬ 
ments iu the city where the butter is sold, so 
as to avoid the profits of middlemen, but 
usually the butter is sent to the general mar¬ 
ket, where it is handled by agents or commis¬ 
sion men. There are two systems of dealing 
with creamery patrons. What is known as 
the “ cream-gathering system,” consists in 
bringing nothing but the cream to the factory. 
The milk never leaves the farm. The cream 
is raised at home, on 'the Cooley system gen¬ 
erally. The cream-gatherer rides about from 
house to house and collects the cream and 
leaves the skim-milk, which can be used for 
feeding purposes. The cream is made into 
butter and sold,the expenses are deducted from 
the amount received,and the balance is divided 
among the patrons in proportion as they have 
supplied cream. 
At other factories the whole milk is taken 
to the factories aud run through separators 
farmers taking the skim-milk home if the] 
desire. The cream is made into butter am 
sold as before described. It will be seen tha 
such a business requires, for its best develop 
ment, very careful management and a class o 
intelligent patrons, who are above pettj 
jealousies aud small fault-findings. 
WHAT IS CLAIMED FOR THE CREAMERY. 
The following note from Prof. Henry E 
Alvord states the two principal advantages 
claimed: 
“ The advantages which the creamery sys 
tem offers to the farmer above the old-styk 
home butter-making are numerous. The twc 
most important points are the relief given tc 
the farm household, by discontinuing the 
labor of caring for the cream, making the 
butter, and preparing it for market ; and the 
relief to the farmer himself, from the time, 
trouble, and frequent losses incident to mar¬ 
keting his product. The argument is often 
used, that while the relief indicated is mani¬ 
fest, these two branches of work, if not per¬ 
formed by the farmer and his family, must be 
paid for, and that this cannot be afforded. It 
has been demonstrated in several instances of 
well managed creameries in New England, as 
well as many elsewhere, that the higher price 
obtained for the product made under the 
factory system, is enough to pay for all the 
expense, from the time the milk is skimmed 
until the net receipts for the butter are re¬ 
turned to the farmer, and still make those net 
receipts as great as the total receipts formerly 
secured by the farmer from the same number 
of cows. In other words, the creamery sys¬ 
tem not only furnishes the relief indicated, 
but does so without diminishing by a dollar 
the farmer’s income. 
“ I take a good deal of pride in having been 
among the very first to inaugurate the system 
of co-operative dairying, especially in the 
form of cream-gathering butter-factories, 
east of the Hudson River. It is only seven 
years since the first of this kind was started in 
Hatfield, Mass., under the management of Mr. 
J. S. Wells. Now, more than one hundred are 
in active operation in the New England 
States.” 
It is also urged that the farmer gets cash 
for his product instead of being obliged to 
trade it out at the store. The point is made 
by the manager of the Northampton, Mass., 
Creamery, that creamery patrons have a bet¬ 
ter idea of the quality of their cows, by com¬ 
paring their returns with those made to neigh¬ 
bors. They are led to weed out all poor and 
unprofitable stock and replace with better. Or¬ 
ganization always renders the spreading of 
intelligence easier. Elaborate figures are 
given to show what the creameries pay in 
cash. The New England Creamery Associa¬ 
tion aims to keep the public well informed 
regarding the profits of the business. The 
following sample figures will show what is 
being done in the East: 
Ipswich, Mass., Creamery paid its 
patrons for the months ending 
Dec. 1st, for a pound of butter.25.67c. 
Wapping, Ct., Creamery.25.59c! 
Canton, Ct., Creamery .23 90c. 
Ellington, Ct., Creamery.". .23 80c 
CoDtoock Valley Creamery, Hen- 
niker, N. H. 22.58c. 
Glens Falls, N. Y., Creamery start¬ 
ed about the last of May and for 
the six months ending Nov. 1st, 
paid.20 87c 
For December they paid the patrons 
about .26c. 
The Big Foot Creamery in Illinois, paid for 
December, 27 cents for the cream that makes 
a pound of butter. This creamery turns out 
a yearly product valued at §200,000. Sev¬ 
eral creameries in New England pay 29 cents 
per pound. In the creameries mentioned the 
Cooley system of cream-gathering is employ¬ 
ed. The prices are net at the farmers’ doors. 
The creamery people call at the door, take 
the cream, leave the skim-milk and pay the 
above prices. 
CATTLE AND FEEDING REGULATIONS. 
“The creamery naturally encourages the 
breeding of Jersey and Guernsey stock. That 
point seems to be settled beyond all doubt. 
While creameries generally are obliged to 
take the milk, or the cream, from herds com¬ 
posed of cows of all breeds, grades, and of 
no meritorious breeding, I regard it as well 
demonstrated that those creameries have the 
best business, other conditions being equal, 
which have around them a predominance of 
blood of one or more of the recognized butter 
breeds of cattle, and more particularly, Chan¬ 
nel Island stock, the Guernseys and Jerseys.” 
Thus writes one of the highest creamery au¬ 
thorities in this country, and the same point 
is made in 90 per cent, of the letters we have 
received. The article elsewhere in this issue 
is a fair statement of what is desired in the 
way of a “creamery cow.” Most of the best 
creameries adopt a set of strict rules to guide 
patrons in feeding and caring for cattle and 
handling milk. These rules are printed on 
thick card-board and tacked up in every sta¬ 
ble from which milk or cream is taken to the 
factory. The design is to make the cream as 
uniform and excellent in quality and as clean 
as possible. The following is taken from the 
rules adopted by the Brattleboro (Vt.) Cream¬ 
ery Association: 
“We do not prohibit the feeding of cotton¬ 
seed meal in quantities not to exceed two 
quarts a day, but it must be of the best quali¬ 
ty. Patrons must not feed linseed meal, tur¬ 
nips, onions, cabbages, or anything to injure 
the quality of cream or butter. We 
must insist that they coufine themselves strict¬ 
ly to these instructions.” 
And this from the rules enforced at Am¬ 
herst, Mass.: 
“Patrons must not feed any cotton-seed, 
linseed, or gluten meal, turnips, onions, cab¬ 
bages, or anything else tending to injure the 
quality or flavor of the cream or butter. Mid¬ 
dlings are not considered as good feed as 
shorts, which with corn, rye or oats are re¬ 
commended.” 
Almost all creameries object to the feeding 
of cotton-seed, except in small quantities, and 
brewers’ grains are generally prohibited. Si¬ 
lage in moderate quantities is not objected to. 
Corn-meal, bran and middlings are the favor¬ 
ite grain foods from the creamery point of 
view. 
MILKING AND MILK HANDLING. 
Special rules are strictly enforced at many 
of the older creameries where the business is 
established upon such a permanent basis that 
the managers can afford to be absolutely in¬ 
dependent. The following are compiled from 
various sets of rules enforced in New Eng¬ 
land: 
Milking. Stables must be cleaned and 
cows carefully cleaned before milking, to 
avoid odors that taint the milk. The milk 
must be strained through three strainers— 
two of them cloth—before going into the 
cans. 
Creamers and Cans. Creamers must be 
kept in a place free from odors, and cleanli¬ 
ness maintained in their vicinity. Tanks and 
cans must be kept sweet and clean, and the 
water free and clear. Cans must be washed 
and scalded every time #hey are used. The 
water iu the creamers must not go below 45 
degrees in summer and 40 degrees in winter. 
Mixing Milkings. Cans must not be part¬ 
ly filled at one milking, and after standing 
long enough for the cream to begin to separ¬ 
ate, be filled up with milk from another 
milking, or with anything whatever. After 
a can has once been set, it must not be in any 
way disturbed or meddled with, nor the milk 
be drawn off by the patrons, except on Sun¬ 
day. 
Cream gatherers are fox-bidden to take any 
cream which is dirty, or for any reason in 
their judgment not of satisfactory quality or 
condition, or which has been in any way so 
treated as to indicate that an attempt has been 
made to interfere with the proper and 
natural separation of the cream. 
Patrons who are not disposed to be governed 
by these rules are requested to so advise the 
directors, and the treasurer will make prompt 
settlement with any who wish to withdraw. 
It seems evident that our friends who are 
managing the ‘Home Dairy” pictured on our 
first page, would find such rules irksome. 
The younger creameries and those in sections 
where dairying has not reached a high degree 
of excellence cannot enforce such strict regu¬ 
lations. They can only encourage cleanliness 
and uniformity in feeding. 
STARTING CREAMERIES, INTEREST IN THEM. 
Respecting the question, “Is it hard to 
get farmers interested in the creamery,” 
Major Alvord writes us as follows: “It is 
usually hard to get the majority of the far¬ 
mers in a community interested in a creamery 
project. Too many of them are inclined to 
hold back, waiting for the creamery to become 
a pronounced success, before joining. They 
fail to see that one of the essential things to 
make the enterprise a success, is for a sufficient 
number to join to make a strong concern. A 
weak creamery, poorly patronized, with three 
farmers out of four in its neighborhood 
watching it but not helping, cannot succeed, 
—but where three out of four in a neighbor¬ 
hood have taken hold earnestly, giving 
strength from the start, the creamery has 
generally proved a business success and real 
blessing to the community.” 
Most of our corespondents agree that it is 
hard to interest farmers in a creamery project 
in a locality where the merits of the system 
are unknown. When once started and worked 
on a profitable basis, however, it is said to be 
equally hard to drive the patrons away. The 
main objections made by farmers are that 
they must pool their issues with inferior dairy¬ 
men—though when strict rules are enforced 
this objection is not so serious—that it costs 
too much to change, that it is risky business 
investing money in a strange enterprise and 
a general feeling that things are about right 
as they are. Many farmers dislike a change 
even when that change promises to improve 
their condition. Co-operative creameries 
are often sjtarted by the Grange or some 
other local farmers’ organization. The 
matter is well talked up and discussed and 
then some influential man who has the con¬ 
fidence of the community starts the matter by 
securing pledges from those who are willing 
to patronize the business one year at least. If 
the milk from a sufficient number of cows can 
be depended upon, a meeting is held, an asso¬ 
ciation formed and stock sold. Estimates are 
received from makers of dairy implements, 
and what seems to be the best bid is accepted. 
The buildiug is built and stocked, a competent 
butter-maker is hired, and the creamery is 
ready for business. 
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT. 
For the benefit of those who may desire to 
locate a creamery in a section now unoccu¬ 
pied, we give the by-laws adopted by the 
Glens Falls Creamery Co., New York: 
BY-LAWS. 
Article I —This association shall be 
known as the- Creamery Company. 
Article II.—The purpose of the associa¬ 
tion is to establish and maintain a creamery 
with such incidental business as may be conve¬ 
niently or necessarily connected therewith. 
Article III.—The business shall be carried 
on in the town of-, in the State of- 
Article IV.—The officers of the corpora¬ 
tion shall consist of seven Directors, a Presi¬ 
dent, Secretary aud Treasurer. The Direct¬ 
ors, Secretary and Treasurer shall be chosen 
annually by the stockholders by ballot, and 
shall hold office for one year and until others 
are chosen and qualified iu their places The 
President shall be chosen annually by the Di¬ 
rectors from one of their number. 
Article V.—The Directors shall have the 
entire management and control of the busi¬ 
ness of the corporation under such limitations 
and conditions as the shareholders, by vote at 
meetings of the corporation, may from time 
