THE DAIRY AHEAD. 127 



The hay-crop, which is so largely tributary to the dairy 

 itself, is the only division which exceeds the dairy in value, 

 and no other approaches it. Next in value stand the animal 

 products (other than dairy), and the root and vegetable 

 crop ; but neither of these amounts to as much as the milk 

 sold and used, and together they do not equal the dairy. 

 The butter made annually in the State is worth more than 

 the potato-crop, and more than all the other roots and vege- 

 tables combined : it also exceeds in value all the fruits pro- 

 duced, large and small, and all the grains. The milk sold 

 and used is worth twice as much as all the butter and cheese 

 made, and they are worth three times as much as the tobacco- 

 crop. Excepting hay, 1 the dairy products exceed in value 

 all the products of the soil ; and they form one-fourth of the 

 total agricultural production of the State. These being the 

 facts as to the yearly production, the relative investment is 

 about the same. The milch cows on farms are worth more than 

 the horses, and are more than one-third of all the domestic 

 animals in value. Their value greatly exceeds that of all the 

 fruit-bearing trees, shrubs, plants, and vines in the State. 



On numerous occasions within the past year, the attention 

 of the public has been called to the rapid growth of dairying 

 in America, and to the fact that it stands now as the first 

 agricultural interest in the country. This State is not gen- 

 erally rated as agricultural, and certainly not as a dairying 

 State ; yet the facts and figures here given prove conclu- 

 sively that the dairy interest, in amount of investment and 

 value of annual products, is foremost in the agriculture of 

 Massachusetts. We seem to be fully justified, therefore, in 

 having this special " dairy day." 



The relative importance of this branch of agriculture has 

 greatly changed during the last thirty years, and the prod- 

 ucts have increased steadily in quantity and value : at no 

 time have they been so great as now. This has occurred 

 without any material change in the number of cows kept 

 in the State, which shows a constant improvement in the 

 quality of the stock. There were about a hundred and fifty 

 thousand cows in Massachusetts in 1845, and there are just 

 about that number now; meanwhile there has at no time 

 been less than a hundred and forty thousand. Of these, 



1 Forest products, wood for fuel, lumber, &c, are also excepted. 



