The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1896-05-07

THERE are eighty factories in Otsego
County for the manufacture of cheese,
butter, or butter and cheese, OF which
forty seven make cheese only, seven make
butter and the remainder make both. In
thirty-seven factories only full-cream
cheese are made, and Of this number
twelve are under the supervision OF May
or c. p. Root. Every town in the county
has one or more factories, and Burling-
ton heads the list of cheese making towns
with total output Of ,O63, 555 pounds,
The total production of cheese in factor
iesin Otsego countyis 6.1O9, 476 pounds
and of butter 774,525 pounds. Esti-
mating the cheese at ten cents and the
butter at twenty cents per pound the
total value of factory products OF the
dairy in Otsego county is $765,37O.
l-Coopersto wn, IN. Y. Republican.
There are few counties in the United
States which enjoy greater prosperity
among its agricultural classes. than
Otsego county, N. Y, and it is due very
largely to the fact that it does not de-
pend wholly upon any one line or pro-
duct. While it leads in the production
of hops. yet the Wisest and closest OBJ
servers do not hesitate to say that it
would be weather. today had it never
raised pound OF them. Be that as it
NAV. it's farmers are, as a whole, wealthy,
contented and happy. The bank state
ments show in deposit subject to check
more than 100000 of dollars-fullv
three-fourths of which belongs to the
farmers, and in addition to this they are
large investors in mortgage securities,
local and national bonds, bank, railroad
and other stocks and securities. 1t is
true that it is an old county-organized
| a century ago, but as matter OF fact
its first half century counted no more in
| its development than the first ten years,
in Stearns county, and today it has
much larger proportionate area not
under cultivation than has this county.
try. half of its area cultivated with side
hill plows-and yet, under snch untow-
ard circumstances its farmers have pros,
pered and are prospecting.
A word by way OF comparison: Area
of Stearns county, 1880 square miles; of
Otsego 1898 square miles.
Assessed acreage of Stearns county,
so6. Os2, acres; of Otsego, co., 25. As
sessed valuation of agricultural lands
and structures CT Stearns county, S.
900 900; of Otsego, SIT, 100000. Aver
age valuation per acre, including i'm
provenents in Stearns county, about
80; of Otsego, nearly $4,000.
1t will be seen by the brief comparison,
that the advantages and superiority of
opportunity are with Stearns, anu there
is no reason why it should not be in all
things the weather. and more prosper
Gus. It's social conditions are very SINH
lar. Both haye one small city OF about
10000, one of about $500; aid several
smaller ones-O:sego having more of
! this class, however, varying from mere
hamlets to 1900 populatian; both have
ore main line of railroad, With branches
of two or three others; Otsego has to-
tai population of SO, 900 in round num-
bers, and Stearns $4,000 as matter
of fact Stearns has the more densely
populated rural districts.
To return to the text: Stearns county
presents even better facilities and condi-
tions for successful dairying than does
| Otsego. The winters, while a little
colder, are no longer, hay and grain can
be produced cheaper here, and MINES
ota has eclipsed New York in the quail.
ity of its dairy products in open compe-
tition with it. New York raises better
stock, as a whole, but there is no reason
why it shouldn't is matter of care
and intelligent selection tor breeding
purposes. Dairying pays there, has
made that country prosperous, and the
same methods applied here would be
equally successful.