14 
ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN S ASSOCIATION. 
The discussion of this topic was opened by C. C. Buei.l, Bsq. r 
of Whiteside County, who read the following paper: 
C. C. BUELL’S PAPER. 
I fear I shah not be able to present as practical a description of this sub¬ 
ject as some may expect, or as I would most certainly desire. I have gath¬ 
ered no statistics relating to it, and can only argue from general facts and 
considerations. I conceive the question lies pretty clearly within the held 
of appreciation of established economic laws, and unless we omit important 
elements in its consideration, we ought to come to a pretty intelligent con- 
ClU It°seems to be a law applicable to this as well as other countries, that the 
average or normal value of animal products gradually but constantly in¬ 
creases, while that of manufactured goods as steadily decreases, lle aie 
interested so far as this discussion goes only in the first part of this state¬ 
ment. I need bring no further proof of the fact stated than the recollection 
of my hearers. Any one who can recollect forty years back, will note the 
gradual rise of dairy products from scarcely half their present price to then- 
present value. Of course these values have undergone, meantime, great 
fluctuations, and annually undergo great fluctuations to which they are es¬ 
pecially liable, but these values, relatively to the value of othei. pioducts, 
have gradually advanced. I believe we may expect this to continue m the 
future and for the same reasons that have secured this advance m the past. 
So far as this consideration goes, then, it may be set down m favor ot the 
negative of the question under discussion. p 
The statement of this question implies the fact, which is admitted, that 
increased production tends to diminish average or normal value This is 
true especially of dairy products, even though the increase is small in part 
because of the perishable nature of the product. To the extent, then, tha 
the increase of dairy products may outstrip the demand for the same we 
may expect a quite violent decrease in the value to follow. The surplus 
may be small in proportion to the bulk of the product, and such as will m 
not a long interval, be absorbed by the trade. Yet the economic law is that 
its effect upon values in the aggregate is quite out of proportion to the appa¬ 
rent magnitude of the cause. These extraordinary fluctuations m value of 
dairy products, sometimes going far above and sometimes far below what 
has been called average or normal value, may be further attributed to t ns, 
perhaps. The consumption of dairy products is nearly a fixed quanta y. 
Cheapness or dearness affects this but little, except in the case of the very 
poor, perhaps. Butter is thoroughly staple, and is about as much a neces¬ 
sity to the whole family as tea to the old lady. Hence a very slight deficien¬ 
cy produces general scarcity, and a small overplus a general glut, and prices 
appreciate or depreciate to correspond. It would thus become a very sei ious 
matter to the producer to increase dairy products beyond market demands 
for any length of time. This in favor of the affirmative, and it should sug¬ 
gest a caution to those whose exceptional success, or whose sanguineness of 
