t 
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 13, 1900. 
II PER YEAR. 
Vol. LIX. No. 2646. 
AN UP-TO-DATE CREAMERY. 
BUTTER MAKING AT BAINBRIDGE, N. Y. 
How the Business is Conducted. 
Part I. 
A COMPLICATED BUSINESS—What would have 
been considered a well-equipped, up-to-date creamery 
10 years ago, would not by any means answer that 
description to-day. Methods and appliances are now 
in everyday use which were then known only to the 
chemist, if indeed they were known at all; while the 
commercial utilization of by-products, so recently be¬ 
gun, is now one of the essential features of a well- 
regulated creamery. Then Pasteuriza¬ 
tion of milk and cream was practically 
unknown, the Babcock test was still 
in the process of development, and 
known only to a few; and the method 
of making the acid test was first pub¬ 
lished by Dr. Mann just 10 years ago, 
at which time only an occasional 
creameryman knew of its exi'stance. 
To-day these and like methods and 
appliances are in daily use, and com¬ 
paratively difficult chemical experi¬ 
ments are performed with perfect ac¬ 
curacy by men who have scarcely seen 
the inside of even an elementary work 
on the subject of chemistry. The test¬ 
ing room is to a modern creamery 
what a chemical and physical labora¬ 
tory is to a well-equipped bicycle fac¬ 
tory employing 1,000 men. 
BITS OF HISTORY—It is probable 
that the creamery at Bainbridge, N. 
Y., is a very good illustration of a 
thoroughly progressive establishment. 
Since its beginning in 1889, it has been 
managed by its present owner, Mr. C. 
C. Hovey, an energetic business man, 
whose portrait is reproduced in Fig. 
258. The creamery was first operated 
as a cream-gathering establishment 
for the manufacture of butter only, 
but as a more complete knowledge of 
the business and the local conditions 
was acquired by experiment and con¬ 
stant study, it became evident that a 
different plan should be adopted, al¬ 
though the results of the first year’s 
trial showed a fair measure of success. 
Cheese-making was tried for a short 
time, and much effort was put forth 
for the establishment of a butter mar¬ 
ket, aiming to get as near the con¬ 
sumer as possible. Even at the first 
considerable quantities of butter were 
sold in the form of prints. The aver¬ 
age amount of butter made the first 
year was from 500 to 600 pounds per 
day, the creamery being run the year 
through. About this time the idea of 
milk-selling was coming into popu¬ 
larity among dairymen in many places, 
and that method of procuring the product seemed to 
be the best solution here, consequently with the open¬ 
ing of the second season two De Laval Standard sep¬ 
arators, each rated at 1,000 pounds capacity, were in¬ 
stalled, and patrons given their choice to sell milk or 
cream, whichever promised to them the greater ad¬ 
vantage. That milk-selling was acceptable to the pro¬ 
ducers is evidenced by the fact that after the Becond 
season no one brought cream. There 1* so much less 
work and trouble connected with milk-selling, that 
no one cares to undertake the setting and skimming; 
besides, it was almost impossible With appliances then 
in use to get all the butter from the milk, therefore 
it was more profitable to sell the milk. Some farm¬ 
ers complain a little because they do not have the 
skim-milk to feed on the farm, but they are accom¬ 
modated somewhat by being allowed to purchase back 
skim-milk at 15 cents per can of 40 quarts during the 
greater part of the year, and at 10 cents for about 
three months In Summer. 
Up to about 1890 it had been customary to run a 
creamery or cheese factory only six or eight months 
in the year, and then take a vacation during the 
Winter months. Of course, this resulted, in a certain 
way, in a loss of trade to the creamery, and a loss of 
employment part of the year to those who do the 
THE OLD CREAMERY MADE OVER. Fig. 257. 
work. There are still many of these ereameries scat¬ 
tered about the country. They are usually owned by 
individuals, but operated upon the cooperative plan; 
that is, the proceeds from the sale of products go to 
the farmers pro rata after deducting a certain price 
per pound for making the butter and the cheese. 
There is a certain gain, however, there being no ex¬ 
pense during that portion of the year when only a 
little milk is produced. The way they were frequently 
managed, and, if I mistake not, are still in some lo¬ 
calities, was to set the night’s milk in vats and Bkim 
it in the morning, getting two pounds or more of 
butter per hundredweight of milk, and then make the 
night and morning’s milk into a full cream cheese, 
the milk being delivered twice a day. The plan was 
thought quite profitable, but there can be little doubt 
that it had a depressing effect upon the cheese mar¬ 
ket. Such cheese was not calculated to make con¬ 
sumers fully understand the healthfulness and de¬ 
sirableness of cheese as an article of daily diet. 
THE BUILDINGS—Fig. 256 shows the original 
building of the Bainbridge Creamery. It was 32x80 
feet and only one story high. Its cost, together with 
the equipment for cream-gathering and buttermaking, 
was in the neighborhood of $6,000. Doubtless a suit¬ 
able building with necessary appliances could now be 
completed for a considerably smaller 
sum. Additions and changes have 
been the order every year, but In 1892 
extensive alterations were made. An¬ 
other story was added, an engine room 
built, and the cold storage plant put In. 
The main creamery building was then 
50x80 feet, with ice houses, cold stor¬ 
age, barns and other buildings in ad¬ 
dition. Fig. 257 shows the buildings 
as they then appeared. Since that 
time only minor changes have been 
made. Alterations which are in pro¬ 
gress this Summer are making some 
difference in the external appearance. 
There is an elevator at the left and a 
veranda on the two sides shown in the 
view. There is also some work under 
way which is supposed to be for the 
purpose of an improvement in working 
up skim-milk. About this we may ex¬ 
pect to learn more at a later time. 
OLD-TIME BUTTER.—In the days 
previous to the time when this cream¬ 
ery was started, there were three or 
four men in town who made a consid¬ 
erable portion of their income by 
handling butter made by farmers and 
the small creameries scattered about 
the country, and the same conditions 
prevailed in other dairy communities. 
It was the custom for the dairyman to 
keep his make of butter from early 
June till well towards October or No¬ 
vember, in the cellar, under the watch¬ 
ful eye of the housewife, and such but¬ 
ter sold at the top of the market. It 
was believed to have fine flavor, es¬ 
pecially the June make, though per¬ 
haps not quite equal to that made in 
the Fall, such being a little fresher. 
Commission men and buyers were anx¬ 
ious to handle it, and there was always 
a good demand. A decade or a little 
more has witnessed a decided change 
in this regard. Summer-made farm¬ 
ers’ butter is now considered "off 
flavor” by Fall, and is not wanted. 
Commission men dislike to handle it 
except in. a few instances, and for such 
occasional localities as have peculiar 
natural advantages, in the way of especially good hill¬ 
side pastures and pure cold spring water in abundance, 
as is the case in some sections among the foothills 
of the Catskill Mountains. Summer butter must, to 
some extent, be held, for there is more of it than of 
the Winter make, but cold storage plants now take 
care of it. So far as this locality is concerned, there 
are scarcely more than a few pounds of held butter in 
the farmers’ cellars, where there were tons 15 years 
ago. Cold storage has revolutionized the method. 
COLD STORAGE.—The advantage of cold storage 
for butter, or other perishable products, is that one 
takes out just what he puts in, Mr. Hovey says. If 
