42 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



proximately 82 million cows in the United States, counting all 

 horses and cattle and sheep and swine, and 82 miUion is a figure 

 worth keeping in mind, representing all the domestic animals in 

 one unit, as you might say. 



But we have nearly 900 million acres of farm land in the 

 United States. In other words, we have the equivalent of less than 

 one cow for every ten acres of our farm land, and when any- 

 one thinks that the solution of the problem of the maintenance 

 of fertility in the United States rests with the live stock busi- 

 ness, then it is well that we keep that fact in mind, that at pres- 

 ent we have less than one cow for every .ten acres, including all 

 domestic animals, and that would not maintain the fertility of 

 the soil of the United States — the manure of one cow for ten 

 acres. 



I think it is even worth while for such a body as this to 

 keep in mind what has happened in our older eastern states 

 around the great cities of the east, such as Boston, New Yorkj 

 Philadelphia, Baltimore, where I suppose we have the best 

 dairy markets, and where dairying has been an important indus- 

 try for a great many years. New York being counted the lead- 

 ing dairy state. 



During the last generation, a period of 30 years, from 1880 

 to 1910, New England agriculturally abandoned 5,893,562 acres 

 of improved farm land. New York agriculturally abandoned 

 during that time 2,873,823 acres; Pennsylvania, 749,488; New 

 Jersey, 292,261 acres. The six New England states and the 

 three Middle Atlantic States I have mentioned agriculturally 

 abandoned 9,809,834 acres of improved farm land during the 

 last thirty years. That is not anybody's opinion, but is the rec- 

 ord of the census figures, — a compilation of the sworn state- 

 ments of the people who owned or abandoned the land. 



How can we maintain the fertility of the soil? Surely we 

 want to use farm manure that can be produced at a profit. It 

 is an important product and of high value. But we ought to 

 look at the subject in a broad enough way to encourage a sys- 

 tem that will maintain the fertility of our soil. We don't want 

 in Illinois to repeat the history of the older eastern states which 



