REPORT OF THE STATISTICIAN. 



427 



mTEENATIOKA.L DAIRY STATISTICS. 



Ill a comparison of dairy products of this and foreipi countries, the 

 abundance, not to say profusion, of the supply of the United States of 

 milk and its products is clearly manifested. This country cousuues 17 

 pounds of butter per capita, not to mention a pound or so of oleomarga- 

 rine, while Europe is said to use only 5 pounds per head. There is little 

 uniformity in the rate of consumption, however, of difi'erent countries. 

 The assumed average in Great Britain is 13 pounds, 8 in Germany, G 

 in Holland and Belgium, 4 in France, 2 in Russia, and 1 in Italy. Our 

 average is apparently increasing. 



The production of milk from all cows, whether on farms or in towns 

 or villages, from about 16,000,000 animals kept for milk, is assumed to 

 average 350 gallons each per annum, or 98 gallons per capita of i)opu- 

 lation. The aggregate production on this basis is 5,600,000,000 gallons, 

 of which 3,000,000,000 gallons (in round numbers) are required to make 

 1,000,000,000 pounds of butter, and 430,000,000 to make 370,000,000 

 pounds of cheese, leaving 2,170,000,000 gallons for use as food in its 

 natural state. The State averages of product per cow vary widely, from 

 475 gallons per annum in some of the dairy States down to 150 gallons 

 in some of the extreme Southern States, where little attention is given 

 to breed or feed, or the i^roduction of butter or cheese. 



The following table gives the exports of the past ten years, both of 

 butter and cheese, quantity and value : 



Our butter, 98 per cent, of it at least, is eaten at home. The lower 

 grades only are included in the exports. Half of the product of 18S5 

 would suflice to replace the exports of the last sixty-five years. In 1821 

 there was an export of 1,000,000 pounds, and this annual export was not 

 increased more than 50 per cent, in the next fifteen years. From 1835 

 to 1840 the annual export dropped to less than half a million ])ounds. 

 Later, the shipments increased, and were rarely less than 2,000,000 or 

 3,000,000 pounds or more than 4,000,000, until 1800, after which, during 

 the years of higli gold premiums, the trade reached about 20,000,000, 

 Lil fail again, fro.ni 1806 to 1876, to figures varyiug from 1,000,000 or 

 J,500,G90 to 6,000,000 pounds. 



The exports of cheese are more im])ortaiit, nnd for ten years have 

 constituted 26 per cent, of the production. The a vcrage annual exports 

 for this period are 119,810,148 pounds, valued at $12,750,780, or 10.6 

 cents per pound. The average annual value of exports of batter and 

 cheese for ten years, is $16,789,130. 



