EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 165 



ceeding year the crops of corn, wheat, oats and barley became smaller. 

 The keen competition of newer western fields decreased crop values, 

 while on the other hand, smuts, rusts, blights and insect pests of various 

 kinds began to appear, materially affecting both the quantity and qual- 

 ity of the crops produced. These conditions demanded the keeping of 

 more live stock on the farms in order to enrich them and utilize to better 

 advantage those crops low in commercial value in the raw state; they 

 had to be manufactured into meat, milk, wool and work, and thus many 

 were led into some line of animal production. These statements, of 

 course, do not apply to the small minority who introduced and bred im- 

 proved live stock from an early date. 



MICHIGAN CONDITIONS ARE NOW WELL SUITED TO THE LIVE STOCK INDUSTRY. 



A large area of the state has long been cleared and prepared for 

 the production of crops well suited to the growth of live stock. The 

 climatic conditions are not extreme; the cold is not prolonged and 

 severe in winter, except in the extreme north, and the same is true of 

 the heat in summer. The precipitation is sufficiently large and uni- 

 formly distributed to render the production of forage, fodder, soiling 

 crops and pastures a certainty. Our lands are well interspersed with 

 living streams and lakes, furnishing excellent water. Michigan is the 

 home of corn and clover and because of the ease with which an abun- 

 dance of the latter can be produced, our chances to compete with the 

 producers of the corn belt are more than evened up. Good transporta- 

 tion facilities have been afforded every part of the state by the ramifi- 

 cation of a great network of railroads. We have easy access to the 

 best eastern and western markets, in addition to a large and ever in- 

 creasing home demand. The heavy wave of keen western competition 

 which has pinched the Michigan stockman in the past, has undoubtedly 

 reached its maximum height, and the future prosperity of our stockmen 

 would seem assured, providing the various divisions of the industry are 

 developed in accord with the conditions and demands. Since nature 

 has given the state good climatic conditions, and the artifices of man 

 have produced the other essential conditions, there is no reason why 

 the live stock industry of the state should not groAV, improve and 

 prosper. 



THE TWO CLASSES ENGAGED IN THE LIVE STOCK INDUSTRY TODAY. 



For the purpose of the discussion that is to follow, we shall divide 

 the producers of Michigan cattle into two classes. First, there is that 

 class comprising the small minority engaged largely in the production 

 of pedigreed animals to be offered for sale for purposes of improve- 

 ment; we have no criticism or suggestion to offer this class. They are 

 by far too few and do not receive the support and encouragement their 

 efforts deserve. The last three volumes of each of the various 

 registry associations include the names of less than 1,500 Michigan 

 cattle breeders. There are a few who undoubtedly own pure bred 

 animals, but have not been keeping the registration up. On the other 

 hand this list must include some who own but a single recorded animal, 

 namely a bull. The fact that these men own recorded stock is evidence 



