10 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN^ 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 144 
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 sur\ e} 
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 off; but shall w r e wonder at it when we 
come to know that the average estimated annual rental value of the 
