The investigation relative to trade production and supply of dairy products shows that in but very few countries of the world are there any annual estimates of production of these products. The items of butter and cheese appear to more or less extent in the trade of almost every civilized country, but in the absence of any definite statements of domestic production it is not possible to present a showing of the net supply or the consumption per capita. Taking the continent of Europe as a whole, the production of butter is in excess of consumption, and there is an annual exportation from all the countries presented aggregating more than 75,000,000 pounds per annum. In only five countries is the product insufficient for the home consumption, and the net deficiency in these five countries amounts to a little more than 200,000,000 pounds per annum. In the United Kingdom alone this deficiency amounts to 184,000,000 pounds. A considerable proportion of the commercial supply is furnished by the countries of Northern Europe, supplemented by a moderate supply from Austria-Hungary and from Germany, a small amount from Italy, and a very large supply from France. The Netherlands lead in the exporting countries, with an annual net shipment averaging 115,000,000 pounds, while France stands second, with 60,000,000 pounds. On this basis the per capita shipment from the Netherlands is about 27 pounds, while the per capita importation of the United Kingdom, the largest importing country, is only something more than 5

pounds. Passing beyond the figures presented for Europe, it will be noted that while for the countries of Asia and Africa there are usually data of butter imported there are only occasional mentions of exports. It is probable that in these cases the greater part of the trade in this product is made up of imports, but it does not necessarily follow that there are no exports. In some cases the export trade is so small as to be grouped under the general heading of "All other articles," or the authorities from which the figures are taken may not profess to give any except the principal articles making up the trade. These facts are specifically pointed out for each country separately in the discussion of the detailed tables of each country which appear later in this report. In America the United States and Canada monopolize the shipments of butter, the trade of our northern neighbor being large, aggregating almost as much as one-half that of the United States. In Australasia the only colonies appearing as exporters are New Zealand and Victoria; but the recorded shipments exceed the recorded receipts for the colonies as a whole, showing that they have some export trade at least with outside countries, although the larger part of their trade is between themselves.

An examination of the figures presented will show some peculiar facts concerning the trade in this product. The countries of Europe show an aggregate importation of 281,512,988 pounds and an aggregate exportation of 357,229,652 pounds, leaving a net exportation for that continent of 75,716,664 pounds. Outside of Europe trade records for the principal countries of the world are presented, and the aggregate imports are shown to be 16,181,574 pounds against an exportation of 32,371,917 pounds, leaving a net exportation from non-European countries of 16,190,343, or a total net exportation for all the countries presented of 91,907,007 pounds. A portion of this apparent discrepancy may be explained upon the supposition that the few countries which are not presented are importing countries. Thus Brazil, China, Cuba, and the Central and South American countries undoubtedly absorb a portion of this net surplus; but it is equally apparent that this demand can not be sufficient to take the whole supply. Another small portion of the difference might be eliminated by a proper allowance for the fact that in a few countries other material, as lard or suet, are sometimes classed with butter in trade records.

The suggestions thrown out, however, are not sufficient to explain the full discrepancy. It is evident that something is exported as butter which is not butter, but which is not recorded in the importing country as butter. The assumption is that this something is oleomargarine or other imitation butter. The country selling the compound is anxious to cover up its identity and records it as butter. The country buying has no such inducement for concealment and it is entered in its proper character. An examination of the facts of foreign trade in these products, so far as they can be presented, will give color to this explanation of an apparent anomaly.

Data of production of cheese are available for only a few countries, and then generally in fragmentary shape. It forms an important item in the food supply of many countries and figures extensively in international trade. It is especially important in the European dietary, in many districts being largely a substitute for meats. Europe, however, does not produce sufficient for her own requirements, the aggregate imports for the countries presented being about 303,000,000 pounds each year, against an aggregate exportation of about 173,000,000 pounds, leaving 130,000,000 pounds to be drawn each year from nonEuropean sources. In addition to this deficiency, there is an excess of importation, small for each particular country but large in the aggregate, in most of the other countries of the world, outside of North America, for which records are available. There are only two prominent sources of supply, the United States, with a net exportation of nearly 100,000,000 pounds each year, and Canada, with more than 70,000,000 pounds.

The United Kingdom absorbs the greater portion of the surplus production of other countries, with an annual net importation of more than 200,000,000 pounds. Besides the trade of the United States and Canada already mentioned, the only countries prominent as sources of supply are the Netherlands and Switzerland, although the large production of New Zealand leaves a surplus for shipment from the Australian colonies of something more than 1,000,000 pounds.