STATE DAIRY ASSOCIATION. 667 



we should consider the topic from the standpoint of onr and your im- 

 mediate localitj'. It might be well to take a broader and more liberal 

 view of the industry, and as a beginning in that direction, I will give 

 you some facts and figures from the census of 1900. These pertain to 

 the whole country; and from them you may be able to get an idea of 

 the value and importance of the dairy industry, and what it means to the 

 men engaged in it, and to the business and commercial world. 



The number of farms on which dairying is practiced, 4,514,210. The 

 number of cows kept for dairy purposes, 18,112,797. Butter made on 

 the farms, 1,071,745,127 pounds. Butter made in factories, 420,112,546 

 pounds. Total pounds pf butter produced, 1,492,699,140. The proportion 

 of butter made on the farms 71.9; made in factories 28.1. 



The total value of the dairy products pf the country according to the 

 census, $563,188,850. These are large figures. We can scarcely com- 

 prehend T\4iat they mean. 



Now what have all these figures to do with the market outlook? 

 Very much indeed. The quantity of an article produced determines very 

 frequently in a large degree its value. However, that is not the case 

 so largely in butter and other dairy products. Their value depends 

 more particularly upon their quality. It is an axiom that holds good in 

 relation to all dairy products, that the quality determines the demand. 

 Good milk, good butter, good cheese, are always in deniand at good 

 prices. The other sort sometimes sells, sometimes goes a begging, and 

 is never satisfactory to either the dealer, the maker, or the consumer. 



Taking a broad view the country over, it is admitted by ad who are 

 given to figuring, that the demand for fine daii-y products has grown 

 in the last ten years faster than the supply; and there has been a general 

 tendency towards higher average prices for first-class dairy products. 

 This tendency naturally brings up the question, if the increased supply will 

 not b'e found to meet the demand. In the general history of the dairy 

 industry, this has only been true to a certain extent. 



During the past ten or fifteen years, a new element has entered into 

 the butter trade, purely speculative, which consists in buying June butter, 

 or butter when it is cheap in the summer time, putting it in the refrigera- 

 tors, holding it until the shortage in the make occurs, then putting it on 

 the market as fresh, if possible, or, if not, simply as fancy creamery but- 

 ter. This has had a tendency to equalize prices between the flush and 

 short make, and has resulted in a more uniform range of values during 

 the year. This has also been the pi-actice with cheese, so that summer 

 and winter prices both of butter and cheese have remained more uniform. 



When it comes to milk and cream, that are now becoming such im- 

 portant factors in connection with the dairy industry, they are an every- 

 day production; and everyday consumptive trade absorbs them. And 

 here as in other lines, quality determines the amount used. Therefore 

 the market outlook for pure, wholesome milk and cream is good. Nol 



