220 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
or sent forward any time after three years old, taking advan¬ 
tage of the market Still the southwestern stock will for a 
long time govern prices, as we may look for a more perfect 
developement of that business as railroads extend their lines 
south and west. This fact should stimulate the Wisconsin 
farmer to the use of all means to successfully compete with 
this new feature of the market. 
The butter and cheese market is more uniform—especially 
cheese—than any product of the farm. The cry of those who 
are engaged in speculating on the market has been and is, that 
the supply will soon exceed the demand, but from a careful 
survey ot the field we .think no fear ought to be entertained by 
the Wisconsin farmer for the future cheese market. The in¬ 
creased quantity consumed does not seem to bear any relation 
to the increase of population in the districts where con¬ 
sumed but has resulted from a change in the habits of the 
people. Economic considerations govern to some extent—but 
the uniform quality and a wider distribution seems to have 
opened new markets in this country and in Europe. In 1863 
our writers on mixed husbandry, thought we were going too 
fast into the manufacture of cheese; in 1868 we had the same 
prophecy in the agricultural reports, and the farmer is admon¬ 
ished in 1872 that Norway, Sweden and Germany are turning 
their attention more to cheese, and that we have good reason 
to apprehend that prices cannot be maintained. It is proved 
that it costs twice as much to produce a pound of beef as it 
does a pound of cheese, and that a pound of cheese contains 
twice the nutrition that a pound of beef does. If this is well 
established, it having also been shown by statistics that the in¬ 
crease of the consumption is four times in excess of increase 
of population, we may for some time at least rely on this im¬ 
provement in demand. 
We notice in the department report reference to. an old saw 
that shrewd men will change their plan of production as cir¬ 
cumstances require. This fallacy it is well to dismiss at once, 
or shrewd men may endanger their own safety by a change. 
