But it should be borne in mind that in 1850 very nearly all our dairy
products were consumed at home; whereas in 1880, we exported a large
amount. As the exports do not all come in the year of production, we
will take the average amount of exports for 1879 and 1880:
Lbs. Butter. Lbs. Cheese.
Exports, 1879 38,248,016 141,654,474
" 1880 39,236,658 127,553,907
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Divided by 2)77,484,674 269,208,381
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Yearly average 38,742,337 134,604,190
Add butter and cheese together 38,742,337
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We have a yearly av. export of 173,346,527
pounds of product. If we take this from the total product
of 1880 1,049,829,921 pounds
173,346,527 pounds
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we have 876,483,394 pounds
of product for home consumption, or more than five times as much as
we export. This is a consumption of 17.47 pounds per capita for our
50,155,783 inhabitants, or .59 of a pound less than in 1850, when
it was 18.60 pounds per capita. Does not this indicate the folly of
catering for a foreign market to the neglect of our own?