The Opunake Times. FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1894. NOTHING LIKE FARMING.

Opunake Times, Volume I, Issue 16, 24 August 1894, Page 2

The Opunake Times. FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1894. NOTHING LIKE FARMING.

Farmers, as a rule, are not happy unless they have a grievance, and, for the matter of that, most other people are tarred with the same brush. From the time when it was tersely put that the soldier fought for all, the clergyman prayed for all, and the farmer paid for all, there has been no getting any good of the farmer. He reckons, and rightly too, that all wealth comes from the land, and logically reasons that he produces all wealth. All others, of whatever trade or profession, from the King to the beggar, have therefore to get their living from his exertions, and the result is that they are all leagued to grind the best bargain possible, out of him. As he produces grain, by means of rings and other dodgeries he is beaten down in price until, in desperation, he finally gets his back up and will not sow. In wool, experts get to work on him on behalf of middlemen and consumers, and leave him as bare as one of his shorn sheep. Most other products have to go through the same sweating process. There is no ring formed on behalf of the farmer. He is usually such an independent “ cuss ” that he reckons he can run the show against the world, and scorns forming a league in self defence. He gets on his hobby, and, looking round with a benign air, says, “ They can’t do without me; they must have bread, they must have meat, they must have clothing, I’m a necessity.” Unanimous chorus, “ You are ; we’d be very sorry to try,” Recently all other farming lines have been overwhelmed by the dairying industry, and here was one line where he fancied he could hold bis oavu. It never struck the great majority of dairymen that milk could be paid for by the gallon except to deal with in a milk round, but the

factory system of cheese making came into vogue, and it was soon found that the quantity of milk required to make a pound of cheese was for all practical purposes a fixed one. Here then was a new revelation. Next we had the separator introduced, doing away with all the old dairy slavery of setting and skimming milk, and it was proved that in a few hours from the milk being drawn from the cow it could be turned into butter, and, if required, be placed on the market. Here again the expert cropped up and cut down the price of milk by various means, until the dairyman was gradually deciding to give it up as a bad job, when a spurt took place in the trade and a revival occurred. It was then seen by the middleman that less than a certain price per gallon would not be acceptable to the dairyman, and therefore the trouble arose to find out bow to give this price and still get to windward of the farmer. The first move was in the “ gallon.” This was to be done by converting the gallon from liquid to dry measure, thereby bringing it under the law of avoirdupois. It was first fixed at ten pounds. When the farmer got used to this a bit, the alternative was given him to either take a reduction in price or an increase in weight. Up went the weight to ten and a-half pounds. This got firmly fixed as a gallon, and ten pounds having ever been so was forgotten. Then comes the proposal again, price down or weight up. On no consideration would they submit to a reduction in price, but up went the weight to eleven pounds, where it remains for the present. Under it the farmer milks ten cows for his own benefit and the eleventh for the factory, but he is quite happy because he has kept the price of the milk up. Now a further demand is made, which is to pay part of the cost of carriage to port of shipment. The farmer produces the milk, carts it to the factory, and sells it there, when naturally one would think his ownership ceased, but no, the factory proprietor crops up and asks him to help him to cart his property away. Concede this point, ahd it will go on until the proprietor’s laundry account will be made a charge against the suppliers.