i92 
March 12 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE CLEVELAND MILK TRADE. 
HOW GOOD FARMERS FARM. 
Part I. 
The city of Cleveland is happily situ¬ 
ated. The southernmost of all the great 
lake cities, she lies directly in the path 
of one of the greatest lines of travel from 
the East to the West. Looking lake- 
ward, she sees a vast fleet of vessels 
whose tonnage exceeds that which passes 
through the Suez Canal. Looking land¬ 
ward, she finds herself in the midst of 
one of the most fertile and highly culti¬ 
vated agricultural districts of the great 
State of which she claims the proud dis¬ 
tinction of being the metropolis, having 
outstripped Cincinnati for this title of 
supremacy some time ago, and boasting 
at present a population of nearly 400,000 
people. This region, for many miles to 
the landward in every direction, is almost 
exclusively given up to dairying and its 
allied interests. I believe that, in no 
other region within the United States, 
have the care and management of the 
dairy reached a higher development than 
on the Western Reserve, of which Cleve¬ 
land is the chief city. 
The milk supply of this great city is a 
problem that is easily solved ; it lies at 
her very doors, and has had much to do 
with the success that has attended the 
efforts of a large class of farmers who 
are known as milk shippers, to dis¬ 
tinguish them from those farmers who 
produce milk for the numerous cheese 
factories and creameries that are scat¬ 
tered all through this region. Eight 
great lines of railroad thrust their iron 
bands into the heart of the city, and 
bring about 1,500 cans of milk per day. 
Besides these steam cars, there are four 
or five suburban electric lines (and more 
being built), which carry to the city, 
with what is brought in on wagons from 
near-by farms, about 500 cans more daily. 
This swells the amount of the daily con¬ 
sumption of milk of this great city to 
2,000 cans, or 20,000 gallons. This amount 
of milk is shipped from a radius of but 
little more than 30 miles from the city, 
and along these lines of railroads. I 
doubt whether any other city of the size 
of Cleveland, draws its entire milk sup¬ 
ply from the farms that lie so close to 
its own gateways. New' York City, for 
instance, if 1 am correctly informed, 
reaches up into the State 200 or 300 miles, 
and out into Conuecticut 100 miles or 
so, to And its chief source of supply. 
This great demand for milk to supply 
a great city has brought about many 
changes in methods of farming, and in the 
system of dairying, and all within a few 
years. In the single township of Solon, 
which is situated about 15 miles from 
Cleveland, there were, but a few years 
ago, six cheese factories, an average of a 
little more than one to the square mile, 
and to-day there is none. Every farmer 
who produces milk is a milk shipper, and 
produces milk the year around, instead 
of eight or nine months, as he formerly 
did. This continuous production of milk 
has been made successfully possible 
chiefly by the silo. There are more silos 
in Solon township than can be found in 
any other five-mile-square area in the 
United States. I make this statement 
as a sort of challenge, believing that no 
one can disprove it. There are silos on 
25 farms in that township, and some of 
these farms have two or more pits. 
Where are there more ? 
The milk shipper has many grievances 
that annoy him sorely, chief of which 
are irresponsible milk dealers, exorbi¬ 
tant freight rates—for the shipper here 
pays the freight; refusal at times to re¬ 
turn the cans—for the dealer here owns 
the cans—etc. ; but in spite of all these 
troubles, he continues to make money 
much faster than any other dairy farmer. 
Prices have not been uniform for many 
years, but those who receive the highest 
prices have been uniformly subjected to 
the most trouble to collect, and are fre¬ 
quently docked, on some pretext or other, 
enough to make up in amount for the 
advance in price that is paid them. 
The prices paid for milk are changed 
twice a year—in the Spring and in the 
Fall—thus making a separate price for 
Winter milk and Summer milk. This 
price usually varies about two cents per 
gallon. Last Summer, the prices were 
eight and nine cents per gallon, the 
most, perhaps, at the latter figure, and 
this Winter, the prices are 11 and 12 
cents per gallon. But a few years ago, 
14 cents were obtained for Winter milk, 
but the price has been falling for a num¬ 
ber of years, due partly to the general 
introduction of the silo, which renders 
the production of Winter milk much 
easier than was formerly possible, partly 
to the general downward tendency of 
all farm products, and partly to the thor¬ 
ough organization of all the city milk 
dealers, who are thus able to dictate 
terms, and often violate contracts with 
impunity, with no fear of the shipper 
getting any redress. 
The milk shippers have made several 
attempts to organize, and success has. 
in two or three instances, been well-nigh 
assured. The ultimate failure was the 
same old, old story. Just as victory 
seemed to be theirs, some one or two 
would break away and sell for the prices 
offered by the dealers ; or the dealers 
would ignore them entirely and go out 
a little beyond the usual limits of supply, 
pay a fancy price to new customers, and 
take their milk until the combine was 
broken, when all w'ould rush to them 
again and take the prices they would 
offer. This has been the history of most 
of their organizations in the past; but 
in the near future, there will, doubtless, 
be a conflict between the milk producer 
and the milk dealer which will be anala- 
gous to the historical Orange County 
milk war, and in which, as their cause is 
a just one, the producer should be tri¬ 
umphant. 
The necessary thorough and scientific 
management of farm and dairy, to make 
this system of farming a successful one, 
has brought out the individual ability of 
some farmers engaged in the business, 
that is worthy of imitation, and whose 
successes may be an encouragement to 
all who are wont to cry, “ Farmin’ don’t 
pay ! ” 
Ohio. 
A. R. PHILLIPS. 
rpHE 
L io< 
old man who 
looks out at the 
world with clear 
and healthy eyes 
cannot help feeling' 
great gratification at 
the thought that his 
children and his 
children’s children 
have inherited from 
him no weakness nor 
tendency to disease. 
') The healthy old man 
>is the man who has 
throughout his life 
kept his digestion 
good and his blood 
pure. Once in 
a while you find such 
a man who has never 
taken any medicine. 
That man has lived 
a perfectly natural 
- ... life. Not one in a 
Jj I /If thousand does do it. 
w 1 1 1 Sometimes very 
slight indiscretions 
or carelessness pave 
the way for serious 
sickness. The germ 
theory of disease is 
well authenticated, 
and germs are every¬ 
where. This need 
make no difference 
to the perfectly 
healthy man. Germs go through the 
healthy body without effect. They are 
hurried along rapidly and thrown off before 
they have time to develop or increase. Let 
them once find lodgment or let them find a 
weak spot, they will develop by the million 
and the blood will be full of them Instead 
of rich, life-giving properties, the blood will 
be a sluggish, putrid tide of impurity. In¬ 
stead of giving strength to the tissues, it 
will force upon them unwholesome and 
innutritious matter, and the man will 
lose flesh. The more flesh he loses and the 
weaker he becomes, the more susceptible 
he is to disease. His trouDie will become 
complicated and serious consequences will 
follow. Dr. Pierce’s Golden Medical Dis¬ 
covery is the only medicine that absolutely 
and infallibly cures all blood diseases, and 
almost all diseases are blood diseases. It 
isn’t a medicine for some one particular 
so-called disease. It is a medicine for the 
whole body. It forces out all the germs of 
disease, replaces impurities with neh, red 
blood, feeds the tissues and makes strong, 
healthy flesh. 
Save the COWS. 
General Cow Drink on hand is cheap insurance. 
<oc. each: $5.00 dozen. Circular free. 
MOORE BROS.. Veterinarians. Albany, N. Y 
rPerfecfMiik 
t Poes the milk have a bad taste; 
I does it tui-n sour too quickly f 
the PERFECTION; 
Milk Cooler 
; and Aerator.. 
I will stop the trouble. It is a low priced machine 
1 and should he in every dairy. Send for circalars. 
i L. R. LEWIS, Mfr. Cortland, M. Y. 
Fire-Weather-Lightning Proof 
Klack, painted or galvanized metal ROOFING 
and siding: (brick, rocked or corrugated) 
METAL CEILINGS AND SIDE WALLS 
Write for Catalogue. 
Penn Metal Ceiling & Rooting Co.. Ltd., Philadelphia 
How's Your 
Avoid mistakes and secure the 
f very best thing of the line! made. 
You may 
need a new 
one this 
Spring. 
You will if you have a Dairy or Creamery 
F 31 vi rid.^ 1 * and do not use 
The Best Separator on the Market, 
The Improved United States Separator. 
Send for catalogues filled with testimonials. 
It excels all others in 
Ease of running and cleaning. 
No. Stonington, Ct., Dec. 28, 1897. 
The No. 5 Improved U. S. runs easy. My 14-year-old brother run it all sum¬ 
mer without any trouble. 1 would not be without one. E. F. WHIT E. 
Bethany, N. Y., May 20, 1897. 
The ease of running and cleaning of the Improved U. S. is fir superior to the 
DeLaval and others that I have tried. F. I. JUDD. 
Fredericksburg, Pa., June 1, 1897. 
My daughter, 6 years old, can set The No. 6 Improved U. S. in perfect run¬ 
ning order and run it. It runs much easier than the DeLaval. 
DAVID UMBERGER. 
New Holland, Pa., June 1, 1897. 
The Improved U. S. runs very easily, is very simple to wash, and does every¬ 
thing it is recommended to do. MARTIN HOOVER. 
Gould, R. I., Dec. 20, 1897. 
My Improved U. S. runs very easily and is quickly cleaned. A visitor who 
has tried all kinds says it is the easiest and steadiest of any machine on the 
market. G. K. CONGDON. 
Catalogues free on application. 
VERMONT FARM MACHINE CO., Bellows Falls, Vt. 
“ALPHA-DE LAVAL” 
CREAM SEPARATORS. 
I)e Laval Alpha 
“Baby” Cream Sej>a- 
ratorn were first, and 
have ever been kept best 
and cheapest. They are 
guaranteed superior to all 
imitations and infringe¬ 
ments. Indorsed by all au¬ 
thorities. More than 125,- 
(XXI in use. Hales ten to 
one of all others combined 
All styles and sizes—$50 to 
$225. Save $5 to $10 per 
cow per year over any 
setting system, and 
$3 to $5 per cow per 
year over any imitat¬ 
ing separator. 
New and improved 
machines for 1 898. 
Send for new Cat.a- 
logue containing a 
fund of up-to-date 
dairy information. 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR CD., 
Randolph & Canal Sts., 
CHICAGO. 
74 COHTLANDT STREET, 
NEW YORK. 
BUGGIES,! 
Cart., SarrlM, 
Phaetons, 
. SprlngWagona, 
Harness and Saddles shipped C. O. D. 
anywhere to anyone with 
privilege to examine at low¬ 
est wholesale prices. Guar¬ 
anteed as represented or 
'money refunded. Send for 
Illustrated catalogandtesti- 
- monials Free. Addr.(in full) 
CiSH BI TERS’ TNION, 158 W. Van Huren St.,U848CHlCA00 
The Red Signal 
IS UP—BEWARE OF COAL TAR. 
Dairymen keep on the straight 
track—Use only pure goods. 
THATCHER’S ORANGE 
BUTTER COLOR is the only 
pure and harmless color on the 
market. If you have been in¬ 
duced to use Coal Tar. a poison, 
switch back on the safe line 
before your product is ditched 
by the public who do not wish 
poison in their butter. 
Oak-tanned leather Harness 
SlUnSof sJSeMdDo^teCBSlISaX tX53?*dd3n5|» 
the con»umer at wholesale price*. WE CAN SAVE YOU MONEY. 
KING HARNESS CO., No 9 cwg. s«., o w ^ _ply. 
for this TOP* 
BUGGY anda 
SINGLE HARNESS* 
New 88-page catalogue shows over* 
500 new styles a our reduced prices.} 
Cart *8.25, Surry *50, Phae-p 
ton *53. Road Wagons and* 
{Spring Wagons. An excellent line of single and} 
{double Harness, also Bicycles. *14 and up, our *33j 
(Wheel, guaranteed highest grade and best made. We* 
{have all styles to select from. Send for Free catalog.} 
.MARVIN SMITH L<). M64S. Clinton St.Chicago,Ill.( 
WEHAVENO AGENTS 
iitltlllllllllRIIlllllUllHIHIf 
but have sold direct to the con 
samer for 25 years at whole¬ 
sale prices, saving him the 
dealer's profits. Ship any¬ 
where for examination. 
Everything warranted. 
118 styles of Vehicles, 
55 styles of Harness. 
Top Buggies, $36 to $70. 
Surreys, $50 to $125. Carria- 
iges, Phaetons, Traps, Wagon¬ 
ettes, Spring-Road and Milk 
No. 7T. Surrey Harness. Price, $16.00. * Wagons. Send for large, free No. 606Surrey. Fricc.withcurtains.lamps.sun- 
As good aa sells for $25. Catalogue of all our styles, shade, apron and fenders, $60. As good as sells for $90. 
W. II. PRATT, See’y, ELKHART, IND. 
ELKHART CARRIAGE AN1) HARNESS MFG. CO. 
n 
Use Sykes “Old Style' 
It is made in a var- IRON ROOFING. 
iety of styles* 1 h easily put on and is longllvea and 
handsome. Falling sparks can’t tire it, hail can t. break 
it and the wind can’t blow it off. Roofs that have been 
on 25 years are good yet Send for catalogue and prices. 
Sykes Iron and Steel Roofing Co. Niles, 0. and Chicago, Hi, 
FARM BUILDINGS ^ 
DWELLINGS « BARNS « POULTRY HOUSES 
HOT-HOUSES « STABLES * Etc. 
RECEIVE PERFECT PROTECTION FRO.n WIND OR STORM 
IN THE USE Ol 
P&B KUBEROID ROOFING 
o , . .v . e , 
NO PAPER TO TEAR. / NO TAR TO RUN. 
A 1 R-T 1 Q.HT. WATER, ACID AND ALKALI PROOF. 
IMPERVIOUS TO STABLE GASES. 
SAflPLES AND FULL PARTICULARS FOR THE ASKING. 
THE STANDARD PAINT COMPANY, 
81 83 JOHN ST.. NEW YORK. 
