31 1 ] BUTTER-PRODUCING AREAS 87 



hauled from town or made from purchased feeds ". If 

 population will grow much faster than means of subsist- 

 ence the result will be as outlined. If the progressive 

 methods of dairy organization, however, succeed in breed- 

 ing up the dairy cow so as to produce annually an average 

 of 300 or more pounds of butter, the cow is likely to be re- 

 tained on most farms and the fertility of the soil will be 

 maintained largely through a very careful application of 

 the manure. 



Scientific methods of restoring the fertility of the soil 

 are not popularly known. The result has been therefore 

 that farmers generally have used the manure of cattle in a 

 more or less careless way. To say, however, that the need 

 for manure was a primary cause in the geographic distribu- 

 tion of dairy regions is erroneous. If this were true the 

 farmer would engage in stock raising and produce beef 

 instead of dairy products. It is the relative values of farm 

 products determined by demand that causes the geographic 

 distribution of the dairy type of farming. 



The topography of sections of the country has both 

 negative and positive influences in causing the distribution 

 of the dairy type of farming. Its influence is negative in 

 regions where the land is extremely fertile and level. In 

 such regions, dairying is usually crowded out by other 

 types of farming. In rolling country its influence is posi- 

 tive because the numerous springs, ponds, and streams 

 which abound in such regions offer a decided advantage 

 for the cow and the care of her products over regions where 

 these natural facilities are lacking. A prophecy bearing 

 on this point was made by the New York Tribune in 1858 

 in the following language : " Lack of drainage which ren- 

 ders the construction of good cellars difficult, if not impos- 

 sible, and lack of spring water, are serious obstructions to 

 butter making in the West. The more northern and hilly 



