168 THE LURE OF THE LAND 



sonal frosts, precipitation or drought make wonder- 

 ful differences in crop production, so much so that even 

 under the best conditions of culture and protection the 

 apple and the peach crops can only be counted on cer- 

 tainly about three out of five seasons in any particular 

 locality. The citrus crops are more uniform, how- 

 ever, in their production, but when an injury comes to 

 them by reason of cold weather it is more profound 

 and enduring than with apples and peaches. Witness 

 the freezes in Florida some twenty years ago and in 

 California during the winter of 1912-1913 ! Actual 

 damage to trees, amounting even to complete destruc- 

 tion, are not unusual on such occasions, whereas the 

 apple tree and the peach tree are very rarely killed by 

 cold weather. The worst that usually happens to them 

 is the destruction of a single crop, which usually is due 

 to an inopportune frost after budding or flowering. 

 The magnitude of these losses on the whole is very 

 great, so great, indeed, that we are led to believe that 

 if agriculture was subject to no vicissitudes of the kind 

 mentioned, the over production would be so enormous 

 as to render the practice of agriculture practically hope- 

 less from a profit returning basis. 



BAVAGKES OF HOG CHOLERA. 



The losses in live stock also are tremendously large. 

 According to the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 590, April 23, 1914, more 

 than seven million hogs were lost by disease during the 

 previous year, the value of which to the farmer was 

 $73,000,000. Ninety per cent, of this loss was due to 

 hog cholera. It is estimated that had this loss not 

 occurred, 800,000,000 additional pounds of dressed 

 meat and lard would have been available. This would 



