Our Imports of Dairy Produce. 



21 



of our annual imports, but it formerly held a more important 

 position in the markets of this country. It is noteworthy 

 that the decline of the export trade in butter from the 

 Netherlands has been concurrent with a great development 

 of the manufacture of margarine. The exports of the latter 

 have only been separately distinguished from those of butter 

 in the Dutch trade returns since 1890, but they appa- 

 rently reached their greatest dimensions in 1892, when they 

 amounted to 135,000,000 lbs ; they have, however, since 

 declined to less than 100 million lbs. During the past five 

 years the quantity of Dutch butter exported annually has 

 averaged about 29,000,000 lbs. Holland's largest customer 

 for both natural and artificial butter is the United Kingdom. 



In 1 89 1 there were 32 large margarine factories in 

 operation in the Netherlands. The factories differ greatly in 

 size and capacity, but all of them are equipped with modern 

 machinery and appliances, and those of comparatively recent 

 construction represent large investments. A representative 

 factory, situated in North Brabant, providing employment 

 for 200 men, is said to produce and ship regularly 25 tons oi 

 margarine weekly. It consumes each week an average of 

 33,000 gallons of milk : the yield of 10,500 cows, owned by 

 2,000 small farmers living in the adjacent rural districts. 

 The number of cows in Holland is 877,200, or 185 per 

 1,000 of the population. 



Although German butter reaches our markets in consign- 

 ments amounting in the aggregate to over 100,000 cwts. 

 annually, Germany has really produced in recent years 

 barely sufficient quantities of this article to meet the needs 

 of her own population. About 80 per cent, of the butter 

 exported is sent to the United Kingdom, and the remainder 

 is mainly consigned to Denmark. The imports are drawn 

 chiefly from Austria-Hungary, Russia, and the Netherlands, 

 but in 1896 about 1 8,000 cwts. were credited to the United 

 States. 



Butter-making in Germany is chiefly carried on by 

 co-operative dairy societies, which are run very much on 

 the lines of similar associations in Denmark. It is 

 estimated that there are about 1,300 of these societies in 



