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Bulletin 120

September, 1905

v

NEW HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE

Agricultural Experiment Station

The DAIRY INDUSTRY

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

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By lVAtf COMINGS WELD

NEW HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE

OF

AGRICULTURE AND THE MECHANIC ARTS

DURHAM

THE EXTENT AND DIVISION OF THE

DAIRY INDUSTRY IN NEW.

HAMPSHIRE.

BY IVAN COMINGS WELD.

THE earliest information we have regarding dairying in
New Hampshire is found in a letter written August 6t
1634. In this letter, Mr. Ambrose Gibbons, manager of Capt.
John Mason 's plantation, which was located near the present
City of Portsmouth, writes to his employer in part as fol-
lows: "you have here at the great house 9 Cowes, 1 Bull, 4
calves of the last year and 9 of this yeare, the prove very
well, farre better than ever was expected. They are as good
as your ordinary Cattle in England and they goates prove
some of them very well, both for milke and breed, if you
did send ashippe for the Western Hands of 6 scoore tunne
or thereabouts for cowes & goates it would be profitable for
you. A good husband with his wife to tend the Cattle &
to make butter and cheese will be profitable, for maides
they are soone goune in this countrie"

1 l Newitchawanock, the 6th of August 1634' '

According to an ancient authority, such cattle as those
referred to were ' ' valued at Fife & twenty pounds the head,
being very Large Beasts of a yellowish colour & Said to
be brought by Capt. Mason from Denmark."

These cattle and their progeny were scattered through
parts of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and
formed the foundation stock for the early settlers in many
New England colonies.

For more than 200 years in New Hampshire, cows were
only kept to supply local demands for milk, cheese and but-

72 THE DAIRY INDUSTRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

ter. They were usually milked during the summer, when
a year's supply of dairy products for the family was pre-
pared. It was not until the cities and towns sprung into
existence that the buying and selling of dairy products in
large quantities became possible or desirable. In 1845, 212
years after Mason 's importation of cows to New Hampshire
dairy farmers first began to send milk on the steam cars to
Boston.

The first private creamery business in New Hampshire
was conducted by Charles H. Waterhouse in the town of
Barrington in 1881. Mr. Waterhouse was also manager
of the first co-operative creamery to be established by dairy
farmers in New Hampshire, which was located in the Sun-
cook Valley at Short Falls in the town of Epsom. It opened
its doors for business on April 6, 1885. For a period of
about two years previous to the introduction of centrifugal
cream separators, the milk, after it was received at the
creamery, was placed in cans of ice water and the cream al-
lowed to rise to the surface. A portion of the cream from
the morning's delivery was removed late in the afternoon
by a hand skimmer, and the remainder allowed to stand
until next morning. Mr. Kichard B. Hall of North Mon-
roe was the owner of the first centrifugal cream separator
to be used in the state, he having purchased a dairy size
machine in March, 1884. The Hanover creamery at Han-
over was the first co-operative concern in the state to use
power machines for separating cream.

With the advent of cream separators, other creameries
were established in the best farming centers in the West
and northern parts of the state. Farmers in the southern
portion have found excellent markets for their milk, not
only in creameries but among the rapidly increasing popu-
lation of nearbv cities and towns.

The importance of the dairy industry in New Hamp-
shire can hardly be overestimated. From its very inception

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 73

by the early colonists in 1633, it has steadily developed
until it has grown to be the largest, the most profitable, and,
hence, the most important revenue-producing branch of our
agriculture. It is, also, the one industry most closely iden-
tified with the health and very existence of all our people.

With recent improved facilities for transporting and dis-
tributing milk and milk products, there has naturally fol-
lowed increased market demands. Because of this increased
demand on the part of the individual and because of our
increasing population, our farms have been called upon to
furnish more and more milk. The financial advantages to
the dairy farmer have become more and more attractive
and for many years the number of dairy cows has been
steadily increasing.

Within the short space of a few hours, food material
consumed by the cow becomes partially transformed into a
finished, marketable and indispensable article of human
food. At the same time about nine tenths of the fertilizing
value of the food eaten by the cow is made ready and re-
turned to the soil to assist the farmer in growing other
forage crops.

The rapid and profitable development of the dairy in-
dustry in New Hampshire would seem to offer substantial
proof that the state possesses exceptional advantages for
the production of dairy products. The revenue which New
Hampshire farmers now derive from the sale of dairy prod-
ucts is larger than that derived from the sale of all other
farm products combined.

Unlike some other branches of agriculture, dairying does
not rob the soil of its fertility. Dairying is a self-supporting
industry and is not dependent on the artificial. It is, there-
fore, an ideal industry, because from its own resources it
is able to sustain itself forever. An ideal industry must
not only furnish steady employment to those who engage
in it but also a steady income during the entire year, and
dairying, more than any other branch of agriculture, can

74 THE DAIRY INDUSTRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

be depended upon to do both. The income, however, in the
future as in the past, will necessarily depend largely on
the skill and intelligence with which the business is man-
aged.

The latest figures obtainable show the number of milch
cows in the state to be 129,900. Their total valuation is
$4,200,966. The average valuation per head is $32.34 or
$4.90 per head higher than the average for the entire coun-
try. The geographical distribution of milch cows by coun-
ties is shown by Plate I.

The number of farms in each county, their average size
and the average number of milch cows per farm, is as fol-
lows:

Av. No.
Total No. Av. No. acres cows

farms. per farm. per farm.

Belknap 1,864 110.5 3.6

Carroll 2,413 150.9 2.3

Cheshire 2,660 138.7 4.2

Coos 1,895 173.6 6.0

Grafton 4,173 148.6 6.4

Hillsborough 4,137 109.8 5.1

Merrimack 3,893 122.5 4.4

Rockingham 4,240 78.2 3.4

Strafford 2,216 88.9 3.1

Sullivan 1,833 143.1 4.4

The average cow in New Hampshire is producing about
11.57 pounds of milk daily or 4,223.05 pounds in one year.
On this basis 1,502,943 pounds of milk are produced in one
day and 548,574,195 pounds represents the total yearly
product. This amount is equal to 516,305,030 pints or 258,-
152,515 quarts. The amount of milk produced annually
in each county is shown by Plate II.

In disposing of their milk New Hampshire farmers are
favored with a variety of good markets. The population
of New Hampshire is now about 430,000 and the amount of

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 75

milk consumed daily is about one pint or one pound per
capita. Approximately, 156,950,000 pounds are consumed
annually, the remainder being manufactured into butter,
cheese, condensed milk or shipped to the Boston market.

The following figures show approximately how New
Hampshire farmers are disposing of their milk at the pres-
ent time :

Made into cheese on farms 950,000 lbs. yearly

Sold to condensed milk factory 1,275,000 lbs. yearly

Sold to cheese factories 23,606,000 lbs. yearly

Sold to Boston contractors 73,397,000 lbs. yearly

Sold to creameries 138,415,000 lbs. yearly

Made into butter on farms 143,981,000 lbs. yearly

Consumed within the state 156,950,000 lbs. yearly

Total yearly product 548,574,000 pounds

There is in the state at the present time one condensed
milk factory, seven cheese factories, 52 creameries and 146
stations from which milk is shipped to Boston. Plate III
gives the location of each of these markets.

The condensed milk factory is located at Whitefield. It
was erected and equipped at a cost of about $50,000 and
furnishes a good market for nearby milk producers.

The cheese factories are seven in number and represent
an investment of about $10,000. Their location is as fol-
lows:

Bear Rock Cheese Factory, Stewartstown ; Cedar Brook
Cheese Factory, Stewartstown; Clarksville Cheese Factory,
Clarksville; East Colebrook Cheese Factory, East Cole-
brook; Columbia Cheese Factory, East Columbia; Hood's
Cheese Factory, South Lancaster, and the Valley Brook and
Percy Stream Factory at Pittsburg.

About 2,500 New Hampshire farmers are now engaged in
producing milk for the Boston market. Milk is transported
in 8%-quart cans, packed in special refrigerator cars at-
tached to passenger or freight trains. During the past

<b THE DAIRY INDUSTRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

year the average daily shipment from the state was 11,167
cans. There are at present 147 railway stations from which
milk is forwarded to Boston six days in the week. The list
is as follows:

Allenstown

Amherst

Andover

Antrim

Ashuelot

Balloch's Crossing

Bagley's

Bath

Barnstead

Barrington

Bennington

Boscawen

Bradford

Bristol

Camp Tract

Canaan

Canobie Lake

Canterbury

Cavender's

Chandler's

Chester

Chichester

Claremont Junction

Claremont

Cold River

Dalton

Danbury

Derry

Dover

Durham

East Andover

East Haverhill

East Kingston

East Lebanon

East Weare

East Westmoreland

Elmwood

Enfield

Epping

Epsom

Everett's

Exeter

Fitzwilliam

Forrest Road

Franklin

Fremont

Goffstown

Grafton

Grafton Center

Grasmere

Greenfield

Greenville

Groveton

Hall's Crossing

Hampstead

Hampton

Henniker

Henniker Junction

Hill

Hillsborough

Hinsdale

Hollis

Holton's

Hooksett

Hubbards

Jaffrey

Keene

Kellyville

Lancaster

Lane's Crossing

Lebanon

Lee

Lisbon

Littleton

Lyford's Crossing

Mad bury

Mason

Melvin's Mills

Merrimack

Milford

Mt. Bellevue

Mt. Sunapee

Nahor's Crossing

Nashua Junction

Newbury

Newfields

Newmarket

Newport

North Boscawen

North Hampton

North Haverhill

North Lisbon

Northumberland

North Weare

Parker's Station

Peterborough

Pike

Pittsfield

Portsmouth

Potter Place

Pratt's

Quincy

Reed's Ferry

Richardson's Crossing

Rindge

Riverdale

Roby's Corner

Rochester

Rockingham Junction

Rollinsford

Rumney

Russel's

Salem

Salmon Falls

Sandown

Scott's

Short Falls

South Danbury

South Lancaster

South Lyndeborough

South Merrimack

State Line

Sugar Hill

Sunapee

Suncook

Tarbell's

9

Tarbell's Crossing

Thomas' Crossing

Thompson's

Thornton's Ferry

Troy

Walpole

Warner

Waterloo

Webster's Mills

West Andover

West Canaan

West Claremont

West Deering

Westmoreland

Westport

Wbitefield

Wilton

Winchester

Windham

Wing Road

78 THE DAIRY INDUSTRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

The creameries of New Hampshire are famous for the
fine quality of their product, which in competition with
that of other states has won highest. honors in both the Co-
lumbian and Paris expositions. At present there are 52
concerns in operation in 44 different towns. They repre-
sent an investment of about $255,000 and afford local
farmers with a safe and satisfactory market for milk.
Thirty-five hundred farmers are thus disposing of their but-
ter fat and at the same time utilizing their skim milk in
growing young stock. The names of the creameries, with
the towns in which they are located, are as follows :

Baker's River Creamery West Rumney.

Bath Creamer}- Bath.

Benton Creamery North Benton.

Bishop's Creamery Bethlehem.

Bristol Creamery Bristol.

Putnam's Creamery Contoocook.

Charlestown Creamery Charlestown.

Claremont Creamery Claremont.

Contoocook Valley Creamery Henniker.

Cornish Creamery Cornish Flat.

Eastman's Creamery Manchester.

Etna Creamery Etna.

Gilson's Creamery Pembroke.

Gilmanton Creamery Gilmanton.

Guernsey Dairy Contoocook.

Hartford's Creamery Lancaster.

Haverhill Creamery Haverhill.

Hillside Creamery Cornish.

Hood's Creamery Derry.

Hood's Creamery Swiftwater.

Hood's Creamery West Lebanon.

Keene Creamery Keene.

Leach Stream Creamery West Stewartstown.

Lebanon Creamery Lebanon.

Lisbon Creamery Lisbon.

Lyman Creamery Lyman.

Lyme Creamery Lyme.

Meadow Rock Creamery Meadows.

Mountain View Creamery Stewartstown.

New Boston Creamery New Boston.

New Hampshire College Creamery Durham.

New Hampshire Creamery Colebrook.

North Stratford Creamery Coos.

North Haverhill Creamery North Haverhill.

Peterborough Creamery Peterborough.

Piermont Creamery Piermont.

Plymouth Creamery Plymouth.

Prescott's Creamery Manchester.

Robinson's Creamery East Brentwood.

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 79

Sanborn Creamerj7 Leavitt's Hill.

Savage's Creamery Lancaster.

Sugar Hill Creamery Lisbon.

Sunset View Creamery Colebrook.

Sutton Creamery Sutton.

The Patron's Creamery East Haverhill.

Warner Creamery Warner.

Wentworth Creamery Wentworth.

Whiting's Creamery Wilton.

White Mountain Creamery Littleton.

Winchester Creamery Winchester.

Woodsville Creamery Woodsville.

It is a fact worthy of notice that in disposing of milk,
New Hampshire dairymen can choose between several ex-
cellent markets. From the nature of these markets and
their close proximity to each other it necessarily follows that
one market cannot possess and retain distinct advantages.
In choosing between them one should be governed by local
conditions, individual preferences and the adaptability of
one's cows as milk or butter fat producers. After having
once determined which market to patronize it is wise to
make a careful study of the requirements of that particular
market and arrange to produce the greatest possible amount
of milk or butter at the lowest possible cost per pound.

The successful. New Hampshire dairyman of tomorrow
must know more of the principles of plant growth and ani-
mal nutrition. He must be familiar with the various breeds
of dairy cattle and the condition governing the production
of milk.

He must understand the principles of bacteriology in its
relation to milk and milk products. He must be able to
apply accurately the various tests used for determining the
quality and condition of milk and cream. He must know
the theory and practice of centrifugal separation of cream,
of cream ripening and butter and cheese making. He must
be in touch with the markets and know just what they re-
quire. In short, the successful dairyman of tomorrow must
be a better business man than the dairyman of yesterday.

New Hampshire dairymen should spare no effort in still
further developing the dairy industry in the state. As
workers in this most important branch of our agriculture,

80

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

every influence should be exerted to still further increase
the fertility of our farms, to still further increase the pro-
ductive capacity of our dairy cows, and to materially lower
the cost of milk and butter production. We must also main-
tain the reputation we have earned for the superior quality
of our products.

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