1900 
383 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER; 
A SUCCESSFUL CO-OPERATIVE CREAMERY. 
Facts About Its Management. 
The cooperative creamery at Mongaup Valley, N. 
Y., has now been in operation for a little more than 
a year. I have a report from Mr. Frank Bezer, the 
efficient manager, for nearly 11 months, covering the 
time from May 8 to April 1: Total amount of milk 
received was 870,l?t pounds; butter manufactured. 
39,992 pounds. The lowest price received for butter 
was lb A / 2 cents per pound; the highest price 28 cents 
per pound, averaging per month a little more than 
23 cents. Total receipts were $9,186.19, and the cost 
of moving $1,190.20, amounting to about three cents 
per pound. The milk is received on the basis of but¬ 
ter fat test, and the average price for the 11 months 
was a trifle over two cents per pound net, including 
receipts for skim-milk. The association was organ¬ 
ized about one year ago by a jobbing creamery house. 
As is usually the case where none of the members 
have any knowledge of the creamery business, the 
plant in the lirst place cost more money than it 
should, and there were some things about the build¬ 
ing and the equipments that were not just what they 
ought to have been. This involved an ex*tra expense 
in repairing, and changes which, probably, will not 
occur again. Just now the association has provided 
an extra building for the manufacture of Italian 
cheese from the skim-milk. The patrons, instead of 
carting the milk home, as was done last year, will sell 
the skim-milk at 10 cents a can. If any elect to take 
his skim-milk home, of course he will have the privi¬ 
lege of doing so. The factory is equipped with a 
Sharpies tubular separator, and Mr. Bezer and the 
buttermaker report very satisfactory results. In the 
tests that I saw during my late visits, there was not 
a trace of cream to be found in the 
skim-milk. This creamery is receiving 
considerably more milk now than dur¬ 
ing the same days last year, and the re¬ 
sults for the coming year ought to be, 
and no doubt will be, considerably bet¬ 
ter. It is certainly more satisfactory in 
its management than that of the cream¬ 
eries which preceded it, not only in 
better prices, but also in the satisfac¬ 
tion of getting the money promptly. 
Many of the farmers in that section 
have milk bills yet due from the pro¬ 
prietary creamerymen of four or five 
years’ standing; some of them are now 
in law, and others stand in judgments 
which are never likely to be satisfied. 
No dividend was paid last year, yet 
the stockholders who patronize the 
creamery are generally satisfied. One 
of them said to me that he was satisfied 
with his investment if it never paid any 
dividend, provided it continued to make 
a market for his milk, in fact, he 
would prefer to omit dividends entirely, 
and let the advantages of the creamery 
compensate for his investment. If all 
stockholders were patrons, and supplied 
milk in proportion to their x»oidings, this would be as 
well, but as a whole it is possibly better to pay small 
dividends, and it is proposed to do so at this place in 
the future. This creamery has been a great benefit to 
the patrons of individual creameries adjacent to its 
territory. Many of tneir patrons are coming to the 
cooperative creamery this year, and as a result they 
have been less exacting than in former years. One 
patron ot the Bushville creamery, who had always 
been obliged to cart milk twice a day during hot 
weather, took stock in the farmers’ creamery, and 
now is obliged to cart but once a day. He continues 
to patronize the Bushville creamery because it is a 
short haul. His stock is a good investment, whether 
it pays dividends or not, because the competition 
gives him a better chance. 
Unfortunately, farmers uo not seem to understand 
the organization of these cooperative companies, and 
the creamery promoters usually succeed in getting 
away with more money than they are justly entitled 
to. A good building and plant can be put up at a cost 
of from $2,000 to $2,&00. A competent creamery ar¬ 
chitect should be employed, and definite estimates 
and specifications should be insisted upon from the 
builders. All experiences seem to confirm the wisdom 
of a cooperative creamery. All we need now is an 
association of managers of the cooperative cream¬ 
eries, which will later result in a city depot for the 
distribution and sale of their products. d. 
Rhubarb In Dark.— The articles which appeared in The 
R. N.-Y on the new method of growing rhubarb in cellars 
have been worth to me a goodly number of subscriptions. 
I had at the time an unused cave and a good-sized patch 
of the plant, so by hard work, as the roots were frozen 
in nearly to the bottom, we got out enough to try the 
experiment and the past Winter grew a good crop. 
KANSAS. 
BREEDING GERMS IN THE SOIL. 
The Kansas Experiment Station (Manhattan) 
makes some interesting statements about the planting 
of the Soy bean. As is now well known, crops like 
clover, peas and beans are able to obtain a certain 
amount of nitrogen out of the air. The ability to 
obtain this nitrogen is measured by the tubercles, or 
warts, which appear on the roots of the plant. When 
these tubercles are absent, it is not thought that the 
plants obtain much, if any, nitrogen in this way. The 
tubercles are produced by tiny bacteria; in fact, they 
are the homes of these minute workers, which obtain 
the nitrogen for us. The Soy bean appears to be 
peculiar in the fact that it will not do its best unless 
the soil contains some of these bacteria. The cow pea 
seems to be able to do its work in almost any soil. 
The first year it may not produce many tubercles, but 
it will gain with each year, and finally produce them 
in large numbers. The Soy bean does not seem to 
have this remarkable ability to hustle for its living. 
To overcome this objection, experiments have been 
made with inoculating the soil. To do this, soil from 
a field in which Soy beans have been grown is scat¬ 
tered in the fields where the crop is desired. This is 
on much the same principle as the plan of bringing a 
“starter” to cream, so as to Start the fermentation 
necessary to produce first-class butter. The Kansas 
Agricultural College brought soil from a Massachu¬ 
setts field, and started a small plot of Soy beans from 
it. Having obtained a small plot of Soy beans with 
tubercles on their roots, the soil of this plot was used 
on a large scale. The first year a field of liy 2 acres 
was planted to Soy beans. The inoculated soil, at the 
rate of 1,000 pounds per acre, was scattered broadcast 
from the wagon all over the field. This did not give 
good results. They then tried the plan of drilling the 
inoculated soil with the seed. The beans were put in 
the grain box of an ordinary grain drill, and a box 
of soil placed on top, so that this ran out into the 
drill with the seed; 611 pounds of inoculated soil 
brought from Massachusetts were drilled in with the 
seed, the result being all that could be desired. The 
next year a grain drill with fertilizer attachment was 
used, and soil from the previous season’s field, well 
dried and powdered, was used about as eastern farm¬ 
ers use fertilizer with wheat, at the rate of 600 pounds 
per acre; 46 acres of Soy beans were planted in this 
way with excellent result, nearly all the plants show¬ 
ing the tubercles. 
Prof. Cottrell recommends to Kansas farmers this 
plan of seeding Soy beans. He says that 100 pounds 
of inoculated soil will be enough to start 500 feet of 
row. It should be used with a drill if possible, but if 
not, a shallow furrow may be opened and the inocu¬ 
lated soil spread thickly along the bottom of this 
furrow. The beans are then dropped in the row and 
covered in the ordinary way. The plants growing in 
this row will be well supplied with tubercles, and 
another year the soil in this row to a depth of four 
or five inches can be used with subsequent crops. The 
soil from 500 feet of row will give enough dried soil 
for several acres. A field once inoculated with these 
bacteria will remain so, and the bacteria will slowly 
increase in the soil. Prof. Cottrell says that this plan 
is not only profitable for the farmers who own their 
land, but also for the renters, who could not in any 
other way obtain the full benefit from the Soy-bean 
crop. Speaking of the value of the Soy bean, Prof. 
Cottrell repeats that it is one of the most valuable 
crops for the western farmer. The beans are richer 
in flesh, blood, milk and bone-making material than 
linseed meal. They can be raised at a cost of from 
$13 to $18 per ton, and pound for pound are worth a 
little more than linseed meal. Not only is this true, 
but the yield of crops of all kinds is increased where 
they follow Soy beans. Where no tubercles are grown 
on the roots, the Soy bean does not add fertility to 
the soil, and this shows the value of using soil that 
is full of bacteria. What a wonderful science agri¬ 
culture is getting to be. How our fathers and grand¬ 
fathers would open their eyes if they could know 
what their descendants are doing. Half a century ago 
Kansas was rich prairie land. Who would have 
thought that the end of the century would find men 
doing such work as Prof. Cottrell advocates? The 
idea of breeding living germs in the soil for the pur¬ 
pose of increasing the growth of useful plants is al¬ 
most enough to stagger even one who has kept track 
of the practical developments of agricultural science. 
What in the world are we coming to before half of the 
next century shall have passed away? 
" THE PRICE OF MILK.” 
The struggle of the milk producers to secure fail- 
prices for the milk sold in this city has at last given 
some city people a better idea of the true situation. 
The milk dealers have yelled “Trust! Trust!” and 
tried to frighten people by claiming that the farmers 
are trying to increase the cost of milk. The milk 
producers show the nonsense of this claim in the fol¬ 
lowing statement: 
“Although the demand for milk in the City of New 
York has doubled within 10 years, the price has 
steadily declined to the producer until prior to a 
year ago. When the present movement among the 
farmers began, the price of milk through them had 
dropped to an average of about 1% cent 
per quart, while the same has been con¬ 
tinually sold in the city of New York, 
and is to-day from five to 10 cents per 
quart. The cost of transportation is 
about three-quarters cent per quart. The 
farmer has believed and does believe 
that between these figures there is am¬ 
ple opportunity for the accomplishment 
of three things: First, a reasonable price 
to the farmer; second, the delivery of 
absolutely pure milk to the customer at 
present price and less; and, third, not 
only a fair, but an extremely profitable 
business for the distributor or- dealer. 
There has not only been this discrep¬ 
ancy in the price of milk, but the farm¬ 
ers have been aware that the milk thus 
sold as pure milk by them has been 
adulterated, skimmed and diluted before 
delivery. The public, whom it is con¬ 
ceded is interested in the milk question, 
may judge for themselves as to how 
much censure is to be passed on the 
farmers for their efforts to obtain the 
very reasonable sum of 2V 2 cents per 
quart for their milk, which is now 
scarcely one-third of the price which it 
ultimately brings to the consumer. It certainly 
comes with ill grace from those who have been pro¬ 
moters, supporters and beneficiaries of the Milk Ex¬ 
change to charge the farmers with the crime of pro¬ 
moting a selfish combination. If any concern ought 
to be stopped from the nature of its own business 
from crying ‘trust,’ it should be this body of men. 
We speak with the utmost confidence in asserting that 
no farmer or dealer has ever anticipated for a mo¬ 
ment that the price of milk to the consumer in the 
City of New York should be, or can be advanced.” 
DEVELOPING A FINE TRADE. 
I placed on sale in our public market over 100 
pounds of the most luscious fruit of fine appearance, 
that I thought surely would sell. To my surprise, 
two-thirds of it was returned, with the price asked 
only 1% cent per pound. The marketman was dis¬ 
couraged and so was I. He said, “You would better 
sell them to the commission house, as it does not pay 
me or you either to sell them at the market.” I in¬ 
sisted on his trying them again, which he did, with 
only one-third returned. After the third time all was 
sold at same price all of that season. The next year 
the price was advanced about 50 per cent, which 
ratio bas been maintained annually, so that last crop 
was sold at over six cents per pound, and sold more 
readily than ever before. It is safe to say that the 
supply will not be increased in the near future, al¬ 
though these columns recommend it very frequently. 
Ohio. F. F. WOODSIDE. 
I thank you for your advice on foot rot In cattle; It 
saved me calling our local cow doctor, and that means $1 
to me, or my subscription to The R. N.-Y. for the year. 
Connecticut. a. l. 
SULTANNE OF BROOK11TLL, No. 149134, A. J. C. C. Fig. 113. See Page 395. 
