Great Britain, Ireland, and other nations, as ^vell as with the several States of this 

 Republic would require the space of a volume, and nauch more labor than we can 

 bestow upon the subject. There ai-e some State statistics, however, bearing ^on the 

 improvement of the dairv stock in New York, to which we invite particular attention, 

 as deserving of far more'consideration than they have hitherto received. In drawmg 

 up the bill and schedules for the collection of the agricultural statistics of New \ork 

 in 1845 (as chairman of the committee on agriculture,) the writer was caa'eful to have 

 all the cows milked in the State counted. This was done, and resulted m a total ot 

 999,490; and now showing a falling off in 1850 of 68,006. Large as this decrease 

 appears, it is really larger than the figures indicate. . 



There was a difficulty in stating in the census of 1850, the number of cows actually 

 milked in each State, because in some States most of the cows giving milk rear their 

 calves by their sides, and are never milked by hand at all. Hence the schedule calls 

 for "milch cows," in which dry cows are returned as belonging to this division of neat 

 stock, rather than to "other cattle," or "working oxen." In New York, one cow m 

 twenty, (perhaps one in fifteen,) gives no milk. Deducting the former number, or fave 

 per cent, from the 931,324 returned in 1850 for dry cows, and the number milked 

 would be 874,158. These figures show that the number milked in 1850 was 124,732 

 less than in 1845. Possibly this estimate of the reduction may a little exceed the 

 truth ; 'but the aggregate falling off in five years of the neat stock in the State, was 

 194 691 • or nearly ^200,000 head. Of this diminution, it is safe to say that one-halt 

 werecows;indicatingafallingoff of about ten per cent, in five years 



We come now to the interesting and exceedingly instructive fact, that nine hundred 

 thousand cows (in round numbers,) yielded more milk, butter, and cheese, (being better 

 milkers and better kept,) in 1850, than a million did in 1845. The cheese »;fturned in 

 1845 was 36 747 976 pound.. These figures are less than the returns of 18o0, by 

 1^991437 pounds. The pounds of butter in 1845 were 79,501,733, showmg an 

 increase in five years of 264,361 pounds. These figures are the more note-worthy from 

 the fact that while nine cows actually yielded more cheese and butter than ten did, the 

 population to consume milk every day in the year, before it was made into cheese or 

 butter, w,as 494,323 larger in the State in 1850, than in 1845. Ot course it is impos- 

 sible to say how much milk this increase of population would consume; but ui 1845 

 there was a fraction over five persons to two cows in the State. At this ratio of increase, 

 the number of cows in 1850 should be neariy 1,200,000 instead of 931,324. No one,, 

 wetru.t will understand us as intimating that all the cows in New York are good 

 milkers, or are properiy kept. We desire simply to do justice to the intelligent dairymen 

 and farmers, who, during the last forty years have rendered their country an invaluable 

 service These are the men who sustain our State and County agricultural societies, 

 and the aoricultural press, and with whom it is an honor to co-operate for the advance- 

 ment of the arts and sciences which belong to the several branches of rural aftairs. 



Dairy husbandry has a deeper philosophy than many suppose; nor can it be compre- 

 hended without considerable close thinking and study. Let the pastures and meadows 

 of a dairyman represent a thousand tons of grass per annum exclusive of the water 

 which the forage may contain. This forage is to be fed to cows for the most economical 

 production of mUk, butter and cheese. Would it not be cheaper in the long run for 

 hiui to pay «^50 a head for first rate milkers than to take poor ones as a free gift i We 

 believe that poor cows do not pay the cost of their keep, or the value ol their food 

 twelve months in that length of time ; therefore the more of such animals there^is in a 

 County or State, the i)Oorer it is m agricultural wealth and income. In the State ot 

 New York, a mean animal is a tax upon its owner and the community, and should be 

 so regarded by all. As the natural resources of the soil become exhausted, farmers can 

 lass artbrd to keep inferior animals of any kind ; for the first cost of grain, hay, grass, 



