The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-10-24
VT. LIVE STOCK PRODUCTS
Interesting Facts Brought Out by
Census Statistics.

interesting FdCtS brought Out Wy
Census Statistics.
Statistics for live stock products
for Vermont are presented in bull
letin soon to be issued by Director
Durand of the bureau of the census,
department OF commerce and labor,
at Washington. 1t was prepared I'M
der the supervision OF John Lee Coul-
ter, expert special agent of agricul-
ture. The returns for live stock pro
ducts obtained at the census OF 1910,
like those for crops, relate TO the ac-
tivities of the calendar year 1909. 1t
is impossible to give a total represent
ing the annual production OF i've
stock products for the reason that the
total value of products from the busl-
ness of raising domestic animals Tor
use. sale. or slaughter cannot be cal
culated from the census returns.
The number of farms reporting
dairy COWS on April 49, 1910, was ~
947. but only 1886 reported DAIRY
products in 1909, That there should
be this difference is not surprising.
Doubtless some farmers who had
dairy cows in 1910 had none in 1903,
while other farmers neglected to give
information for the preceding year, or
we're unable to do so, perhaps be-
/ cause the farm was in other
hands. Dairy products in general are
somewhat less accurately reported
than the principal crops. This is
particularly the case as regards the
quantity of milk produced. The mum
Der of farmers which made any re-
mort of milk produced during 1903
was 25.433 somewhat less than the
total number reporting dairy pro
| ducts). and the number OF dairy COWS
on such farms on April 10, 1910, was
247.OOO. The amount of milk report
ed was 114.317O00 gallons; assum-
ing that there were the same number
of COWS in 1909 as in 1910, this would
represent an average OF 463 gallons
per cow In considering this average
however. it should be borne in mind
that the quantity of milk reported is
probably deficient and that the dis
tinction between dairy and other
! cows is not always strictly observed
| in the census returns. By reason oil
! the incompleteness of the returns Tor
milk produced, the census bureau has
made no attempt to determine the
total value of dairy products for
| 1903. For convenience a partial to-
! tai has been presented comprising the
reported value of milk, cream and
/ butter fat sold and the reported value
| of butter and cheese made. whether
! for home consumption or for sale.
| The total thus obtained for 1903 is
| $12.12S.000, which may be defined as
| the total value of dairy products, eX-
| elusive OF milk and cream used on
| the farm producing Considerably
! less than one-third of the milk pro-
| duced in Vermont in 1909 was sold as
| such. A comparatively large quaint
" of milk and cream was sold on a
basis of butter fat. The butter made
/ on farms in 1909 was valued at S4,-
| $4,000. Comparisons are made be-
/ tween 1909 and 1899 for but few of
I the census items relating to dairy
products for the reason that in 1899
! estimates were made for farms with
| incomplete reports. which was not
/ done at the present census. The
figures for milk produced and milk
sold are particularly AFFECTED, but
| those for butter and cheese are APP
proximately comparable. There was
! a material decrease between 1899 and
! 1909 in the amount of butter made.
and a still greater relative decrease
in the production Of cheese.