CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 21 



This branch of our dairy industry calls for no further comment. Our 

 dairy farmers have only to continue to supply the British markets, as 

 heretofore, with good cheese, to maintain the trade at its present mag- 

 uificient proportions. It may be time to consider, in addition to our 

 manufacture of cheese for general consumption, whether it would not 

 pay to cater to particular and peculiar taste. For instance, French 

 cheese to the amount of over 3,000,000 pounds, valued at over 3 cents per 

 pound more than American cheese, was consumed in the United King- 

 dom in 1SS4. Even putch cheese, imported to an amount equal to one- 

 third of the total imports of the United States (35,777,392 pounds), is val- 

 ued at more than 1 cent per pound higher than American cheese by the 

 British customs. Our cheese manufacturers should study the modes 

 of manufacture in the several countries, especially in France, Holland, 

 Switzerland, and Italy, and learn therefrom, if there is anything to be 

 learned, the secrets of special-cheese making. The reports from those 

 countries will be found full and valuable aids to such study. 



Our cheese manufacturers should never lose sight of the fact that 

 whenever, without any depreciation in the quality, they can export 

 cheese to the United Kingdom at lower prices than are obtained at 

 present, the result will be an increase in the consumption of this product. 

 Indeed, it would be hard to estimate the increased consumption of 

 American cheese which would result from a decrease of even a penny 

 per pound in the United Kingdom. Of course this principle applies 

 to all other food supplies equally as well as to cheese, and it should 

 always be borne in mind and worked up to by our producers and ex- 

 porters without waiting for competition to reduce the price. 



CANNED AND SALTED BEEF, BEEF TALLOW, ETC. 



The foregoing statistics, covering the foreign trade and our present 

 and prospective share therein, in horned cattle, fresh beef, butter, cheese, 

 and oleomargarine, still leave canned and salted beef, beef tallow, and 

 condensed milk before the subject of cattle and cattle products, in this 

 connection, is exhausted. 



The details of our trade herein will be found in the tabulated state- 

 ments immediately following this letter, showing our total exports of 

 cattle and cattle products, by countries and continents, for the year 1884. 



Our exports of canned beef for the year 1884 amounted to $3,173,767, 

 of which the United Kingdom took to the value of $2,542,122, while less 

 than $300,000 worth went to the remainder of Europe. 



Our exports of beef tallow during the year 1884 amounted to 63,091,103 

 pounds, valued at $4,793,375. In 1880 our exports of tallow amounted 

 to $110,707,627 pounds, valued at $7,689,262. Of course this showing 

 does not go to prove any decrease in this product during those five 

 years, for it is too apparent that beef tallow in our market must keep 

 pace with the slaughter of cattle, and the latter having increased very 

 largely during the years under review, it follows that the falling off in 

 our export of the former is wholly due to an increased home consump- 

 tion. This increased consumption is in the line of oleomargarine man- 

 ufacture, and our exports of the latter, together with our home con- 

 sumption thereof, will fully cover any decrease iu the export of beef 

 tallow. 



Of the total tallow export of 1884, 57,706,979 pounds, valued at 

 $4,339,322, went to Europe, of which much more than one-half went to 

 the United Kingdom, France (8,514,000 pounds), Belgium, and Holland 

 following in their respective order. 



