and this must be remembered in the comparison of prices which I shall 

 make: 



Average farm, values of agricultural products in 1860, 1880, and 1882, 

 respectively. 



And sir, I want to call the special attention of my friend, Mr. Mills, 

 to a production which I fear he has left out of his calculation. Per- 

 haps he thought it inconsequential, but it is too large an interest, has 

 become so, not to have attention. I refer to the 



BUTTER AND CHEESE PRODUCTION. 



The butter production of farms, as reported by the Census of 1860, 

 was 459,681,372 pounds. Inclusive of that, not entering into the farm 

 enumeration, the entire product of the United States was about 500,- 

 000, 000 pounds. In 1880 the amount returned from farms and factories 

 was 806, 672, 071. The total product of the country was about 900, 000, 000 

 pounds. 



The average price of butter exported in 1860 was 15 cents. As only the 

 poorer qualities were exported the average farm price is a little higher 

 than the seaboard price of export butter, and I estimate it at 16 cents. 

 The range of recent prices is from 9 to 40 on the farm, with much higher 

 rates for a small quantity of " gilt-edged " samples, yet the average is 

 still low, but is not less than 21 cents for 1880 and 22 cents for 1882. 



The export price in these years respectively was 17.1 and 18.5 cents 

 per pound. 



The production of cheese advanced from 103,663,927 pounds in 1860 

 to 243,157,850 in 1880. Including a little unenumerated, the actual 

 production would be about 130,000,000 and 300,000,000 respectively. 



The average prices were about 9j cents in 1860, 9J in 1880, and 10.5 

 in 1882. There was a partial glut in 1880, which reduced the price. 

 The export prices of cheese are a little higher than farm prices 10 cents 

 in 1860, 9 cents in 1880, and 11.2 in 1882. 



As a rule prices of butter are much higher in recent years than 

 twenty-five years ago. Cheese is now about 10 per cent, higher, as an 

 average. 



The value of all productions of agriculture for 1879, exclusive ol 

 about $400,000,000 of corn and hay consumed in the production of meat, 

 was, approximately, $3,600,000,000. This includes all meat products, 

 milk consumed, fruit, and various minor products not included in the 

 census tabulation of 1880. Of this about $400,000,000 (farm value) 

 was exported, leaving $3, 200, 000, 000 for domestic consumption. This 

 gives about 11 per cent, for exportation, which is more than usual, the 

 range of recent years being 8 to 10 per cent. 



In 1859 the production aggregated a value of about $1,600,000,000, 



