ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN’S ASSOCIATION. 41 
of milk and the suitable feeding and care of stock require. A few 
farm dairies have turned out an exquisite product, but in general the 
farm dairies are the source of the most of our poor butter. The re¬ 
sult of this system to this class of farmers has been to greatly increase 
their income trom their herds, and thereby to multiply their profits, 
while at the same time materially lessening their labor. The success 
of the system under these circumstances, therefore, has been most 
marked and so far as I know, without exceptions giving satisfaction to 
all concerned. My own experience with this method happens to have 
occurred under precisely these circumstances and we give in this con¬ 
nection the prices we have been able to pay for cream during the cur¬ 
rent year: January, 23c., an inch making a pound of butter; February, 
24c.f March, 22c.; April, 20@22c.; May, i6@i8c.; June, 15c.; July, 
ii5@i6c.; August, i7@20c.; September, 22@25c.; October, 26c.; 
November, 26© 28c.; December, 28c. Relatively to the market price 
of butter a larger price was paid during the warmer season of the year, 
for the reason the expense of gathering was less, the expense of sell¬ 
ing less, and especially the yield of butter per unit of measure, or inch, 
was better—the cold weather bringing serious shortage of yield per 
I inch, a matter which must be taken into consideration of both manu¬ 
facturer and dairyman. 
Second. A creamery situated amidst large dairies would enjoy 
, advantages much superior to those in the case above described. T he 
| labor and expense of gathering would be greatly lessened. The cir- 
' cumstances of cream raising could be and naturally would be more 
; perfectly controlled, so as to give the best quality of product. Indeed 
where butter making alone is the object it would seem to be the 
cheapest as well as the very best mode of butter making. I have in 
I mind a creamery for the making of butter alone, managed on the milk 
I carrying plan by associated farmers, which I am told by different per- 
1 sons connected with it, is being compelled to change to the cream 
| gathering plan or loose its customers. This occurs where complete 
harmony prevails, and where success according to the system has 
been considered achieved. When the object is to make good butter 
and poor cheese in addition from the same milk, of course another 
element comes in. This presents a tough subject in more than one 
sense. Our Conventions may very properly discuss it in the future 
as in the past, but the whole business will ultimately turn upon the 
question of profit and loss, in a commercial way. But it may fairly 
be submitted in this connection whether the value of the skimmed 
milk, and that usually skimmed sweet, would not more than over¬ 
balance the profits of making and selling a poor cheese. I am not 
prepared to give precise results of my own experience in the feeding 
of skim milk, but taking the evidence of others it may be rated at not 
less than twenty cents a hundred pounds, and when skillfully used as 
a part ration for young stock, either calves, pigs or colts, its value is 
far above this. Of one thing I am quite positively convinced, that the 
sweet skimmed milk is of considerable more value than the sour swill 
which would come from the factory. 
It is to be remembered, however, in the consideration of this sub- 
