THE DAIRY INDUSTRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 73 



by the early colonists in 1633, it has steadily developed 

 until it has grown to be the largest, the most profitable, and, 

 hence, the most important revenue-producing branch of our 

 agriculture. It is, also, the one industry most closely iden- 

 tified with the health and very existence of all our people. 



With recent improved facilities for transporting and dis- 

 tributing milk and milk products, there has naturally fol- 

 lowed increased market demands. Because of this increased 

 demand on the part of the individual and because of our 

 increasing population, our farms have been called upon to 

 furnish more and more milk. The financial advantages to 

 the dairy farmer have become more and more attractive 

 and for many years the number of dairy cows has been 

 steadily increasing. 



Within the short space of a few hours, food material 

 consumed by the cow becomes partially transformed into a 

 finished, marketable and indispensable article of human 

 food. At the same time about nine tenths of the fertilizing 

 value of the food eaten by the cow is made ready and re- 

 turned to the soil to assist the farmer in growing other 

 forage crops. 



The rapid and profitable development of the dairy in- 

 dustry in New Hampshire would seem to offer substantial 

 proof that the state possesses exceptional advantages for 

 the production of dairy products. The revenue which New 

 Hampshire farmers now derive from the sale of dairy prod- 

 ucts is larger than that derived from the sale of all other 

 farm products combined. 



Unlike some other branches of agriculture, dairying does 

 not rob the soil of its fertility. Dairying is a self-supporting 

 industry and is not dependent on the artificial. It is, there- 

 fore, an ideal industry, because from its own resources it 

 is able to sustain itself forever. An ideal industry must 

 not only furnish steady employment to those who engage 

 in it but also a steady income during the entire year, and 

 dairying, more than any other branch of agriculture, can 



