STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 71 



999,490 cows, and in 1855, 1,058,427, though the number had 

 decreased to 931,324, making the increase during the last five 

 years equal to about 25,000 annually. In tlie products of the 

 dairy some facts are disclosed worthj^ of notice. In 1845 we 

 produced 79,510,733 pounds of butter and 36,744,976 pounds of 

 cheese, making, an aggregate of 116,246,709 pounds. In 1850 

 the butter had increased only about 100,000 pounds, while the 

 product of cheese had gone up to 49,741,413 pounds — nearly 

 thirteen millions of pounds during the five years. But in 1855 

 we produced 90,293,073 pounds of butter and 38,944,249 

 pounds of cheese — the aggregate dairy product of that year being 

 129,237,322 pounds, against 129,507,000 in 1850. This large 

 increase in butter and decrease in cheese would seem to indicate 

 that butter making was more profitable tlian the manufacture of 

 cheese. It is not improbable that the census of 1860 will show 

 a still greater difference, for there can be little or no competition 

 with our best butter in any market. Its continued advance in 

 price, notwithstanding the large increase of land brought into 

 use in the United States, is a sufficient guarantee to the farmers 

 of this State, that in one branch of agriculture they have nothing 

 to fear from the fertile lands of the West. 



Herein then is our strength, and through this branch of agri- 

 culture we can distance all competition, and create upon our own 

 farms a perpetual mine of increasing wealth, unlike all other 

 mines, possessing within itself the power of perpetual replenish- 

 ment. If we rightly direct our energies, our agricultural supre- 

 macy is as certain as our commercial. 



Sir, I believe our future progress and prosperity depends upon 

 the proper encouragement and increase of the dairy. We need 

 some liealthful employment fur our sons and daugliters at liume, 

 upon the farm — something tliat will teach them care, regularity, 

 and the importance of systematic and useful labur. No branch 

 of farming furnishes all these requisites so fiillvas does the dairy. 

 Why, sir, ifs our fault that our girls are decked out in tlie absurd 

 costumes of a French milliner ; we do not furnish them witli 

 employment, and we must not be surprised that tlirir better 

 natures tlms run to waste. If we neglect tu learn them how to 

 hoop cheese, ought we to wonder that they turn to hooping them- 

 selves? Nor ought we to wonder that our sons are growing up the 



