366 MARINE FISHERIES OF NORTH CAROLINA 



compare the amount of agricultural land in the United States with the 

 amount of productive fisheries bottom area of fresh and salt water. 



It is difficult to find a basis for comparison of the amount of agricultural 

 land in the United States with the area of bottom that is fished or accessible 

 to fishing. The area of the continental shelf of the United States, south- 

 eastern Alaska, plus the Great Lakes, etc., as above, is about 352 million 

 acres, with an indefinite addition in areas at sea beyond the limits of the 

 continental shelf of which the northeastern banks constitute about 50 million 

 acres. The agricultural land of the United States is summarized for 1945 as 

 follows: ^^ 



In farms (Millions of acres) 1,142 



Pasture 529 



Not plowable 420 



Plowable 109 



Crop failure and cropland lying idle or fallow 50 



Cropland harvested 353 



Farmsteads, lanes and waste 44 



Forests and cut-over land 166 



Pastured 95 



Not pastured 71 



It will be noticed that the continental shelf, etc., is almost exactly the same 

 area as the agricultural cropland actually harvested, not including pasture 

 land. Nearly all of the cattle and sheep production is based on pasture land, 

 but pigs and poultry are largely fed from harvested crops, while fisheries at 

 sea may be regarded as all based on the equivalent of pasturage. 



Agriculture supported a farm population of 30,546,911; the fisheries (in- 

 cluding Alaska) supported, at least in part, 124,795 fishermen (1940), or, 

 with their families, perhaps 400,000 people; agriculture produced vegetable 

 crops to the value of $3,470,000,000 ^^ and livestock of $4,873,000,000,^^ both 

 together $8,343,000,000; the gross value of all fish was $100,000,000. United 

 States agriculture produced 18,995,000,000 pounds ^^ of dressed meat, which 

 at 54 per cent, represents 35 billion pounds of whole animals on the hoof, or 

 nearly equal to the 37 billion pounds of the estimated entire world produc- 

 tion of whole fish; United States fisheries produced 4,000,000,000 pounds 

 gross weight of fish, or about 1,600,000,000 pounds of net edible fish flesh; 

 but about a third of all was used for oil, fish meal and fertilizer. Moreover, 

 United States agriculture continues to enhance its efficiency of production. 

 Mechanization alone since the end of World War I has released for produc- 

 tion of other crops 55,000,000 acres formerly used for growing animal feed. 

 Each farm worker today produces food for himself and thirteen others; in 

 1850, himself and three others.*" 



38. Statistical Abstract 1948, Table 653. 



39. From the U. S. Bureau of Agricultural Economic^ Statistical Abstract 1947, Tables 700 

 and 731. 



40. Cooper, Barton and Brodell, 1947. 



