REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 155 



BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. 



In cooperation with the Alabama Experiment Station it is being 

 demonstrated that beef can be produced cheaply in the South. The 

 results of eight years' investigation show that the South, east of the 

 Mississippi River, is the territory to which the people of the United 

 States must look in future for reasonably cheap beef. 



SHEEP. 



In Wyoming sheep husbandry is being studied to determine the 

 most profitable types and lines of breeding on the range. In Ver- 

 mont a Southdown flock of high quality is kept. 



ANIMAL NUTRITION. 



In cooperation with the Pennsylvania State College the most com- 

 plete apparatus in the world has been built for the study of the nutri- 

 tion of domestic animals. The beginning of this work antedates by 

 three years the inauguration of animal husbandry work at Wash- 

 ington. 



MILITARY HORSES. 



In the current appropriations act, for the first time in the history 

 of the United States, Congi-ess has recognized the fact that to insure 

 a sufficient supply of suitable horses for military purposes Govern- 

 ment aid is necessary. The Government proposes to furnish the stal- 

 lions but the farmers will breed the remounts. Work will begin with- 

 out delay, and American farmers will therefore have a share in the 

 national defense. 



WORK RELATING TO THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. 



The Dairy Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry was organ- 

 ized July 1, 1895, with four employees, and up to 1897 its work con- 

 sisted of compiling and publishing data relative to conditions of the 

 dairy industry and the methods most approved at that time. All 

 the experimental and extension work has been done since March, 

 1897. 



EXPORT BUTTER. 



In 1897 experimental shipments of butter to foreign markets were 

 begun. For several years the development of foreign markets for 

 dairy products in Europe, West Indies, and Asia constituted a largo 

 part of the division's activity. 



INCREASING THE PRODUCTION OF MILK AND BUTTER FAT. 



Census figures show that the average production of milk and 

 butter fat per cow in the United States is entirely too low. A large 



