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Show jol.EO ON THE j FARM. ! According to Professor M. Morten-sen, Morten-sen, head of the dairy industry de-j ' partment of Iowa State college, the ! use of oleomargerine has increased at j "an alarming rate" during the past few months. An Iowa newspaper asks ; the question why, and then proceeds j to answer it by stating that many, of the fanners who sell their cream j buy oleomargerine for their own table in the place of butter. The reason given is that butter is so expensive, farm families cannot afford to eat it. i Times have certainly changed dur-; ing the past few years. Most xf us, can remember when one of the joys of living or visiting in the country was the thought of the great mounds of golden, home-made butter. Home' churned butter was not only used on the f arm but was taken to the county j seat town and exchanged at the gro- eery for cash or for provisions which the farmer could not produce for himself. ' But now butter making in the coun-j try has become a lost art. The farm-i farm-i er sells his cream and buys butter or I oleomargerine for his own table, just as many farmers now purchase a goodly supply of meats in town. Home curing of meat and home canning can-ning are rapidly become lost arts, too. The reason of course is that the so-called so-called agricultural "experts" have taught many of our farmers to believe be-lieve that a farm is just like a fac- tory and must be made to produce so I much cash profit without regard to i any advantages which the farmer may possess over the man in the city. But the purchase of oleomargerine ! for use on the farm would seem to be j just a little too much, either from the ethical or commercial standpoint. It is a great deal like the restaurant j man who serves meals but eats in 'his competitor's place across the j street. Oleomargerine is, of course, ! one of the principal competitors of ! the dairy farmer's products. And the greater part of the material used in its manufacture is not even produced j in the United States. It comes into the country in the shape of cocoanut oil from the tropics. J Certainly the dairy farmer has a i right to ask for protection for Ameri-; Ameri-; can-made butter. But if he is consistent, consis-tent, and if the families in the country coun-try communities who depend directly on the farmer are consistent, they 1 will try to become butter conscious again, and leave the oleomargerine to ! the city folks who are not supposed , to know any . better although most ! of them do know better, because they, too, originated in the country. And I if creamery butter is too expensive to use, how about oiling up the old churn again? |