ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE SWINE INDUSTRY 3 



Live stock vs. commercial fertilizers. A comparison 

 of the agriculture of the north and south Atlantic states 

 shows the distinct superiority of barnyard manures over 

 commercial fertilizers in enriching soils and increasing 

 yields. In natural fertility all of the Atlantic coast states 

 are nearly on a par, and in this respect the north Atlantic 

 states are comparable with the south Atlantic states. 

 Nevertheless, after a period of farming extending be- 

 tween fifty and a hundred years we find the following 

 statistics, taken from the Federal Census of 1910 : 



North Atlantic South Atlantic 



Acreage of improved lands 38,920,614 48,479,733 



Value of live stock $447,056,358 $366,534,152 



Value of products per farm $562 $363 



Improved land per farm 50.5 43.6 



Average value per farm $5,456 $2,654 



Land $2,573 $1,694 



Buildings $1,938 $542 



Live stock $632 $330 



Average expenditure per acre for fer- 

 tilizer $0.77 $1.23 



From this it is seen that although we use more fer- 

 tilizers in the south Atlantic states, yet the value of our 

 products per farm is much less ; and while our acreage is 

 greater, the value of live stock in the north Atlantic states 

 is much higher. These figures show that greater yields 

 and prosperity follow live stock, and that we should seek 

 to enrich our soils with barnyard manures rather than by 

 commercial fertilizers. 



Present situation. The cotton growers are just begin- 

 ning to realize the true state of affairs, and recognize the 

 necessity for action. Some are conservative and others 

 lack courage. We have seen the work of the pioneers in 

 hog raising in the South, and their efforts have resulted 

 in a great improvement in the native stock. Today we 



