U.S.A. AGRICULTURE, 1873-1913 23 



number had dropped to 859,000 quarters, and in 

 1912 the trade has practically disappeared. With 

 regard to live cattle, the figures are 344,000 in 

 1907, and only 39,000 in 1912. Though this 

 enormous drop in exports was no doubt due to 

 increased home consumption, it was undoubtedly 

 accelerated by special causes. The Report of 

 1909 sums up the position thus : — " More profit- 

 able crops have made more valuable land, and 

 cheap beef is not the product of high-priced 

 land." Ranges were being broken up by the 

 plough, and the natural process was accelerated 

 by the enforcement of the " No Fence " Law. 

 At the same time the movement for forestry 

 conservation tended to restrict the running of 

 cattle in forest areas. 



With regard to packing house products, the 

 financial panic of 1907 precipitated a crisis in 

 prices, with the result that sows were slaughtered. 

 There was also a special reason to account for the 

 breaking up of the Western ranges. The Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture had, during many years, 

 assisted the movement known as dry-land farming 

 by acclimatising varieties of macaroni or durum 

 wheats, found suitable for the semi-arid regions 

 of the West, which had formerly been entirely 

 devoted to cattle. These efforts had been so 

 successful that in 1904 the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture had been able to prophesy that 40 or 50 



