ANNUAL REPORT—AGRICULTURE. 
41 
Table showing the number of Milch Cows in Wisconsin and Iowa. 
Milch Cows. 
Wisconsin. 
Iowa. 
In 1350. 
64, 839 
203,001 
308, 377 
45,704 
189, 802 
*367,602 
In 1860. 
In 1870. 
In the amount of dairy products we have fairly beaten our 
neighbor. For although her milch cows outnumber those of 
Wisconsin by 59,425, the quantities of butter and cheese pro¬ 
duced by Wisconsin are slightly in excess of those of Iowa— 
a fact which would seem to speak well for either the character 
of our stock, the quality of our feed, the superior care 
of our farmers, or the better management of our cheese 
and butter manufacturers. But it occurs to us that there 
must be some important relation between this increase 
of our dairy products over those of Iowa, and her extraordi¬ 
nary increase of cattle over ours, as noted on a previous page. 
Is is not probable that Iowa farmers, caring more to increase 
their stock than to turn the milk of their cows into butter and 
cheese, allow a much larger per cent, of their calves to run with 
their dams for a season than do the farmers of Wisconsin ? 
We have suspected this to be the secret of the differences in 
question, and the results of inquiring confirm the suspicion. 
It seems that our farmers being within range of the cheese 
factories are so anxious to turn their milk into money that 
they are in the habit of killing off their calves at a day old, or 
at the latest as early as their hides will be saleable. This 
naturally diminishes the supply of cattle and calves for the 
butchers and raises the price of meat in the local market; and 
this demand in turn results in the slaughter of large nurnbers 
of young cattle of all ages. 
* State census of 1869. 
