The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1880-10-01
Our Cows and their Value.

At the late convention Of the Ameri.
can Butter and Cheese association, the
president Of the Northwestern Dairy.
mems association, Hon. G. p. Lord, Of
Elgin, H., read a paper In which he
estimated the number Of milch COWS in
the United States at over $4,000. COO, re-
curing the annual product Of 81, O0O, 900
acres OF land for feed, giving employ
ment 10 $780, COO men, and requiring the
labor OF s66 600 men. Estimating the
COWS at $50 each, the horses $50, and
land at $50 per acre, together with
1900, OOO, 900 for agricultural and dairy
implements, and the total amount in
vested in the industry is $2,2l9,2SO 600.
Tbs Il considerably more than the
amount invested In banking and the
commercial and manufacturing inter-
ests of the country, which is ISL 800, 96i,-
$50. The cattle and horses will require
two tons OF hay annually or its equiva-
lent. If il is estimated that 5000, 900
COWS are fed with grain for winter
dairying, and that the horses daily re-
quire six quarts of oats or corn dur
ing the year, they will consume 2s $685.
300 tons Of hay, 1880, 900 bushels Of
corn-meal, 81, $4,000 bushels of oat-
meal, 1880, 900 tons of bran, 80, 1000, 900
bushels of corn, and SOC, goo eco bushels
of oats, of a total value of 1854, 459 400.
To this should be aGded the labor Of
$50, 600 men at $50 per month, Sl56, OOO,.
600, making the annual value of $780,.
450, 400, or an average OF $3S so per cow
Accepting twelve cents per gallon as
q basis for comparing the value of the
milk product, aud 4i6 gallons the aver
age yield per annum (this being tho
average in sixteen States in 1860, the
1900. 900 cows produce annually s 1884,
OOO, 600 gallons of milk, worth $685.
76l, 600. Analysis shows that three and
one-half pounds of milk contain the
same kind and amount of nutrition rs
one pound of homeless beef. The total
weight of the milk product is 50, 1884,
5000 OO pounds, equal to IA. 495, COO, O0I
pounds of homeless beef. About fifty
per cent. of a fat steer is homeless meat,
10 that it will require 20, 65O,000 steers
of I,4OO pounds weight to produce the
same amount Of nutrition as the annual
milk product. Such fat steers would
sell at $3.50 per cwt., or 1853 each-a
total value Of $1,000, 95O, 900; deducting
for hide and tallow, $3.50, 100, 900, leaves
the meat value $I,04O, 760, 000. This
gives the food value of the milk product
in the United States annually. Will
lard, in his practical Dairy Hus-
bandry," says that milk at twenty-four
cents per gallon is equivalent in value
to homeless beef at nine cents per pound.
1t is false economy, therefore, that sub
stituted meat for milk as an article Of
food.
The same authority (Willard) states
that fifty per cent. of the milk is used in
making cheese and butter, and forty-one
per cent. is consumed in a liquid state.
The department of agriculture, 1877,
estimates there are 1000, 900, 900 pounds
of butter and 300, OOO, 900 pounds of
cheese made annually in the United
States. At twenty-seven pounds of milk
for one pound Of butter, and nine and a
half for one pound of cheese, the total
amount of milk used would be 90, $780,
600, 600; add forty-one per cent. of the
product for consumption, the total pro-
duction is So 52, 1926, 900 pounds, within
a small fraction of n per cent. Of the
estimate made.
The caseine in the milk used for max
ing butter, if utilized for cheese, would
produce annually 1890, 900, 900 pounds,
and besides there is annually run off in
the SKINNED milk, buttermilk and whey
300, 900, 900 pounds of milk sugar, which,
if saved, would have a market value
greater than the entire annual sugar
crop Of Cuba.-Sctentgfc american.