PEODUCTIOlSr AND CONSUMPTION OF DAIRY PEODUCTS. 



than in 1910. In the Southern and Western States the general 

 tendency is for the per capita production to increase, while in the 

 New England and Middle Atlantic States the average is decreasing. 

 There are several factors entering into the^e changes. The principal 

 ones being changes in population, in dairy cows, in average yields 

 of milk per cow, and in the relative proportion of the total produc- 

 tion used for making butter. Changes in the average yield of milk 

 and the relative amounts of milk used raw for human consumption 

 will be discussed later. If the average production per capita for 

 the United States represents th-e actual average consumption in all 

 the geographic divisions, an average greater or smaller than this 

 amount would represent a surplus or deficit. Using this basis, the 

 New England and Middle Atlantic States began to have a deficit of 

 butter in 1890. The North Central and Pacific States have always 

 had a surplus. 



Table 5. — Average production of butter and cheese per capita, by geographic divisions. 



Geographic division. 



1910 



1900 



1890 



1880 



1870 



BUTTER. 



New England . 



Pounds. 

 10.5 

 8.6 

 23.2 

 38.2 

 10.3 

 16.3 

 15.4 

 13.2 

 20.2 



Pounds. 

 16.5 

 15.1 

 25.2 

 39.3 

 8.9 

 13.0 

 13.6 

 12.2 

 22.6 



Pounds. 

 16.4 

 17.1 

 24.3 

 36.2 



9.1 

 13.2 

 10.6 



7.2 

 18.8 



Pounds. 



16.4 



20.1 



21.4 



23.2 



6.4 



9.2 



6.8 



4.9 



18.0 



Pounds. 

 14.2 



Middle Atlantic 



20.0 



East North Central 



17.1 



West North Central 



15.1 



South Atlantic. 



4.9 



East South Central 



6.2 



West South Central 



3.3 



Mountain 



4.3 



Pacific 



14.5 







Total, United States 



17.6 



19.6 



19.1 



16.1 



13.3 







CHEESE. 



0.6 



6.1 



9.9 



.5 



8 



.1 



1.0 

 2.2 



1.2 

 9.1 

 7.5 

 1.3 



.1 

 (0 



.1 



2.8 

 4.2 



1.9 

 10.2 

 7.0 



1.8 



.6 

 3.1 



3.0 

 13.2 

 7.0 

 1.2 



.9 

 3.8 



4.7 



Middle Atlantic 



11.8 



East North Central 



3.9 



West North Central . 



.6 



South Atlantic 



(1) 



East South Central 



.1 



West South Central 



(1) 



MnnntAin 



.6 



Pacific 



5.2 







Total, United States 



3.5 



3.9 



4.1 



4.8 



4.2 







1 Less than 0.05 of 1 per cent. 



The cheese production has always been highly localized in the Middle 

 Atlantic and East North Central States. In the Middle Atlantic 

 States the per capita production is decreasmg, while the reverse is 

 true for the East North Central. By comparing the number of acres 

 of improved land with the dairy cows, an approximate index of the 

 relative importance of dairy farming can be obtained. The smaller 

 the numb(;r of acres per cow, the more important seems dairying in the 

 system of agriculture. In the North Atlantic, East North Central, 



