TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IV 147 



ing stock, especially the cattle kind, and the extreme value of phe- 

 nomenal individuals make it altogether desirable that when a fortunate 

 blood combination is discovered in the breeding world, the utmost pos- 

 sible use shall be made of it. As long as breeding remains strictly an 

 individual enterprise, there are few indeed who are financially able to 

 own animals enough to do really constructive work. Moreover, individ- 

 ual herds are not of sufficient permanence for the greatest public good, 

 few, indeed, remaining together but a short period of time. 



When we regard the whole history of any breed, and consider the ex- 

 ceedingly few men who have contributed at all to its permanent excel- 

 lence, we can not help feeling that most of the good which has arisen 

 during the time has been lost either by remaining entirely undiscovered 

 or else by being in the hands of men unable to realize its excellence. 

 As Hambletonian 10th came near ending his life in obscurity and leaving 

 nothing behind him, so have many potentially great sires missed by a 

 narrow margin their contribution to the world. The only protection 

 against these losses is larger herds of a more stable character, or if not 

 single herds, then individual herds held together by some kind of a oo- 

 operative bond. 



These are some of the subjects which require a good deal of study 

 from the stockmen just now, many of whom need a readjustment of vision 

 because of the new conditions that are upon us. The live stock interests 

 are here permanently with us American farmers. Of that we may rest 

 well assured. Our real problem is to so reconstruct methods of procedure 

 as to square with new conditions and make the business economically 

 profitable, not in a speculative way, but in the same way that any other 

 established business goes foreward; namely, on a reasonable but an assured 

 margin of profit. 



Professor R. K. Bliss, of the Iowa Agricultural College, spoke 

 on "The Cattle Feeding Situation in Iowa," illustrating his re- 

 marks with charts. 



PRESENT CATTLE FEEDING SITUATION IN IOWA. 



PROF. R. K. BLISS, AMES, IOWA. 



In discussing the present cattle-feeding situation in Iowa, I wish to 

 first call your attention to the enormous increase in the value of land dur- 

 ing the past forty years, and especially during the past fourteen years. 

 In 1870, land in Iowa was worth, on the average, $20 per acre; in 1880, 

 $23; in 1890, $28; in 1900, $43, and in 1910, $96. From 1870 to 1890 land 

 increased only $8 per acre; from 1890 to 1900 land rose from $28 to $43 

 per acre, or an increase of over 54 per cent. The greater part of this in- 

 crease was made after 1896, fifteen years ago, or immediately after the 

 period of hard times. From 1900 to 1910, the price of land in Iowa has 

 jumped 123 per cent, or to $96 per acre, and the end is not yet. 



This remarkable advance in the price of land has greatly increased the 

 cost of producing beef. One acre of land costs as much today as three and 

 one-half acres did twenty years ago. Thorough drainage and better hand- 

 ling of farm lands has probably increased the production somewhat over 



