STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



3G5 



and five thousand four hundred and seven, w^hile her population was 

 three hundred and seventy-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-four, 

 making about two cows for every tliree persons. Considering such a 

 state of fiicts, one would hardly have supposed that California would 

 have continued to be a large importer of butter and cheese from the 

 other States. Yet such is the ugly fact, notwithstanding our population 

 has been constantly on the decline since that date. Taking the above 

 figures into account, the following table does not speak very well for the 

 farmers of Califoi'nia, or for the State itself 



TABLE 



Shoiowg the incniber of firlcins and poxmds of Butter imported into this State 

 from the East during each of the last six i/ears, and the average pr?Ve for 

 each 1/ear, and the ivhole mimber of pounds, and the whole cost : 



Years. 



Firkins. 



Pounds. 



1860 

 1861 

 1862 

 1863 

 1864 

 1865 



Totals 



53,103 

 36,388 

 72,536 

 63,240 

 56,171 

 60,828 



5,310,300 



3,638,800 

 53,600 



7 9 



Average price. 



Total cost per year. 



6,324,000 

 5,617,100 

 6,082,800 



34,226 600 



27} cents. 

 28} cents. 

 2ii cents. 

 24t cents. 

 32J cents. 

 65 cents. 



$1,446,996 73 

 1.027,941 00 

 3,765.042 66 

 1,565,190 00 

 1,816,195 66 

 2,128,980 00 



$9,768,346 05 



It will be seen bj^ the above table, that in the face of the facts above 

 related, California has imported within the last six years from the loyal 

 Atlantic States, thirty-four million two hundred and twenty-six thousand 

 six hundred pounds of butter, at the enormous expense of nine million 

 seven hundred and sixty-eight thousand three hundred and forty-six 

 dollars and five cents; or one million six hundred and twentj^-eight 

 thousand and fift3^-seven dollars and sixty-seven cents per annum. 



By the census of eighteen hundred and sixty, we find there were at 

 that date twenty thousand eight hundred and thirty-six farmers in our 

 State; and we have seen that they possessed among them two hundred 

 and five thousand four hundred and seven cows. 



Now, suppose these farmers had milked and properly cared for their 

 cows in eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and made frojn each fifty-three 

 pounds of butter, which is only the average number of pounds that was 

 made from all the cows in the "whole United States in eighteen hundred 

 and sixty, the product would have been equal to ten million eight hun- 

 dred and eighty-six thousand five hundred and sevent^^-one pounds. At 

 twenty-eight and one quarter cents per pound, the average price at which 

 butter sold at wholesale that year at San Francisco, this amount would 

 have put into their pockets the handsome sum of three million seventy- 

 five thousand four hundred and sixty-six dollars. Or, they could have 

 supplied the whole amount of butter imported that year, pocketed the 

 one million twenty-seven thousand nine hundred and forty-one dollars 

 paid for it, and retained for their own consumption seven million two hun- 

 dred and forty-seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-one pounds. 



