10 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN S ASSOCIATION. 



We also estimate the production of cheese to reach in round 

 numbers about 315,000,000 pounds. Of this amount the United States 

 will consume about 180,000,000, and we shall export about 135,000,000 

 pounds. 



England imported in 1875, 181,418,496 pounds of butter, at a cost 

 of 24 cents 9 1-10 mills per pound. Of this amount the United States 

 furnished only 6,360,827 pounds, which was sold in that country for 

 23 cents 6 9-10 mills per pound, being about 1 1-3 cents less than 

 butter brought from other nations imported the same year. The 

 largest importations in that year were from Germany, Holland, Den- 

 mark and France. The home production the same year was estimated 

 fully equal to the whole importation. This holding true, the con- 

 sumption of butter in England for 1875 would be a fraction over 14J 

 pounds per head for the entire population. The importation of 

 cheese into England in 1875 was 182,158,256 pounds. Of this amount 

 this country furnished 101,010,853 pounds ; being considerably more 

 than half of the amount imported. 



This importation, large as it may appear, is claimed by the 

 writer in the Encyclopaedia Britannica to be but a small part of what 

 is actually consumed by the people of that country. The amount 

 imported as stated above, would give to every man, woman and child 

 of England, about seven and a half pounds per annum. This would 

 be very nearly twice the amount used per capita in this country. 



Our exportation of butter and cheese being almost entirely to 

 England, perhaps it may not be amiss for us to take a general survey 

 of her financial prospects for the future, as well as her home pros- 

 pects for a continuation in the production of dairy products. Her 

 imports in 1876 over all exports amounted to about $873,000,000. The 

 present year they must much exceed that of 1876. Should this state 

 of things continue in the future it will only be a matter of time when 

 her resources will become exhausted, as no people or country — how- 

 ever rich they may be^-can long continue to live, financially, with a 

 heavy annual balance of trade against them. 



The census returns of England and Wales for 1861, show that 

 1,833,652 persons were engaged in agricultural pursuits in that year, 

 and in 1871 the number had decreased to 1,447,481, a dropping out of 

 386,171 persons from this pursuit in ten years. Nor is this all. The 

 decrease of cattle for the three years ending in 1877 was 374,686 head. 

 This shows a large falling ofi"; but shall we wonder at it when we 

 come to know that the average estimated annual rental value of the 



