Drummond, Lanark: The cow, corn and cheese factory have been the means of lifting many a mort gage in this county within the last ten years, which has been due in a great measure to Farmers' Institute meetings. Laxton, Victoria: No cheese factory in this township, so it is all butter-making yet. The price was very fair this season and I think more is being made; more cows are kept. Otonabee, Peterborough: Shorthorns seem to be the favorites. Ayrshires are coming in. Thurlow, Hastings: Cheese-making is flourishing, but people begin to think it overdone, and are starting butter factories. Monteagle, Hastings: Dairy interest is looking up here; going into creamery more than heretofore instead of cheese. Tyendiraga, Hastings: This is specially a dairy section-cheese especially manufactured, but dairy men are turning their attention to manufacturing butter, and I think before another year some creameries will be erected. Morrison, Muskoka: Cheese causes discontent and quarrelling to such an extent, and hinders the rais ing of calves so much, that the butter crop is preferred. Watt, Muskoka: Not much improvement either in breed or care of our milk stock; the cow that will give the greatest weight of milk is the animal preferred, as the quality of product is of no account at our cheese factories. Assiginack, Manitoulin: The dairy industry promises to be good, but we have no creamery or cheese factory-hence we are at a loss. Tarbutt, Algoma: The farmers are going into dairying more each year. Thessalon, Algoma: There is quite a lot of good butter made in this township; not much cheese. CREAMERIES. The following table gives the statistics furnished by 93 public creameries for 1898-9, showing the quantity and value of butter made, the average number of patrons and the average price per pound; of the 93 creameries making returns 14 are operated in summer, 62 in winter, and 17 are going all the year, from twice a week up. It also gives an estimate for all creameries in operation for the six years, 1893-8: The number of creameries (including skimming stations) operated in Ontario is repcrted as 282, being an increase of 68 over the previous season. Our efforts to secure returns were a little more successful than in previous years, the number reporting statistics being 93 (or 109 including skimming stations). Based upon these returns the butter made at the 282 creameries is 9,008,992 pounds, or 1,300,727 pounds in excess of the output of 214 creameries in the previous year. The patrons received $1,294,220 for milk or cream supplied, being equivalent to 60.6 cents. per 100 pounds of milk. In the previous season it averaged 63.1. CHEESE FACTORIES. The following table gives the statistics of 1,187 cheese factories operated in Ontario in 1898. These figures are given by groups of counties. Comparative figures are given for the Province for sixteen years: Notwithstanding the closing up of a number of factories there was a net increase in 1898 of 26. There was a decrease, however, in the make of cheese of over 9 million pounds from the great output of 1897, but the season of 1898 leads 1895, the next highest year, by nearly 19 million pounds. The average price of cheese, too, dropped over half a cent per pound, so that the patrons received but $8,417,535 as compared with $9,709,004 in 1897. This is equivalent to 61.2 cents per 100 pounds of milk, or 4 cents below the average of five years. The output by counties is given on page 86. It will be seen that the western counties show considerable decreases, while many of the eastern counties give increases. Hastings with 96 factories produces 11,505,082 pounds, while Oxford with 9,922,553 pounds in 43 factories comes next. 137,362,916 11,719,468 9 70 9 68 9 55 8 00 66,101 10.60 8 53 9,709,004 66.6 57,635 10.62 8 28 65,661 10.75 7 88 54,839 10.56 50.870 10.58 48,601 10.49 8,417,535 61.2 7.040,927 63.6 6,922,962 59.0 7,931,022 77.2 9 35 |