14 
ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN^ ASSOCIATION. 
Dr. Tefft, of Elgin, had also been assigned to that topic, and read the fol¬ 
lowing paper: 
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Illinois Dairymen's Association: 
Allow me to invite your attention for a few moments while I offer you 
some desultory thoughts or remarks upon “ The Supply and Demand of 
Dairy Products and their Prospective Markets.” 
In order to do this allow me to digress a little and raise a leaf in the book 
of time and compare the old method of making butter and cheese thirty or 
forty years ago by our forefathers and foremothers of that day, with the 
shallow tin pan and vegetable cellar for a creamery for butter, and the 
wash-tub, clieese-tongs basket, and corner-of-the-fence press for cheese, 
with that of to-day, under the factory system. 
At that time the supply was usually furnished by a few farmers with a 
dairy of ten, fifteen, or twenty, and sometimes, but rarely, thirty or forty 
cows. This last was considered a very large dairy and was not often met 
with. The butter and cheese produced by these farmers who entered into 
this branch of farming, as it was then called, was in butter, limited to a 
small amount, and in cheese to one per day or one every second or third 
day, consequently the supply was small. 
In these days cheese was not eat as a food but used as a relish, and the tin¬ 
niest morsel was sufficient to supply the family for a meal. Europe had not 
turned her attention to this country for this article of food, and John Bull 
could not be induced at this early date to believe that this country could 
manufacture anything fit for an English aristocrat to eat. Mark what lie 
says now, “ The American cheese, under the factory system of manufac¬ 
turing, is fully equal if not superior to the best English make .' 1 This saying is 
fully verified by the English demand on this country for our factory cheese 
of late. Cheese manufactured in or about 1840 was worth on the market about 
five, and sometimes, but rarely, brought six or seven cents per pound, and a 
good wagon load was sufficient to glut an ordinary market. In the year 
above named the entire dairy interest of milk, butter and cheese in the 
United States (as per U. S. Census) amounted to about $38,784,008. 
Somewhere between 1840-50, the Herkimer county dealers commenced 
shipping cheese to Europe, and in the years of 1848-9,15,386,836 pounds were 
exported. 
We pass, for the purpose of cutting short this article, from 1849 to that of 
1873, although the exports of dairy products during those many years would 
show a large and steady increase from year to year. 
The exportation of butter in 1873 was. 3,593,884 pounds. 
“ “ “ “ “ 1874 “ . 4,671,674 
Increase of 1874 over that of 1S73 of. 1,077,790 
The exportation of cheese in 1873 was . 87,845,769 
“ “ “ “ “ 1874 “ . 94,217,466 “ 
Increase of 1874 over that of 1873. 6,317,697 
