305] BUTTER-PRODUCING AREAS 8 1 



New York increased rapidly from 1850 to 1880, but after 

 this to 1900 only slowly. Between 1900 and 1910 the pro- 

 duction in New York fell off 25 million pounds while in 

 Wisconsin it increased 70 million pounds. In 1909 Wis- 

 consin produced 149 million pounds, which is the largest 

 amount produced by any state. In Pennsylvania the pro- 

 duction of cheese increased slightly during the last decade, 

 while in all other eastern states it decreased. It decreased 

 in Illinois and California, where the demand for fresh milk 

 is probably the cause for the decline. In Oregon, where 

 the urban population is less numerous and the demand for 

 fresh milk not so strong, the production of cheese increased 

 by 3 million pounds during the last decade. 



Like the butter industry, the cheese industry shows a 

 tendency to migrate to sections of the country where the 

 production of milk for fresh consumption is less profitable 

 than in regions in close proximity to urban centers. Other 

 factors that determine the distribution of these industries 

 are soil, topography, climate, transportation charges, and 

 social influences. The demand for fresh milk emanating 

 from urban centers is the chief fundamental cause that 

 brings about specialization in the production of butter, 

 cheese, or milk for fresh consumption. When this force 

 is felt in the dairy region, milk will be produced and the 

 production of butter and cheese will be shifted to more re- 

 mote parts of the country. Further differentiation be- 

 tween the production of butter and cheese seems to be due 

 primarily to the adaptability of the soil to raise sufficient 

 quantities of corn necessary in the feeding of hogs. When 

 the yield of corn is reasonably large the hog may be made 

 an adjunct of the butter industry by the utilization of skim 

 milk. Where the yield of corn is very low hogs must be 

 eliminated, and it then becomes more profitable to make 

 cheese than butter. This is the chief cause ascribed to the 



