INTRODUCTION 



the raw materials raised* on the' farm into valuable human food 

 products. Generally speaking, the animal products sold contain 

 only small amounts of fertility, and the stock farmer can, there- 

 fore, secure good crops from his land for an indefinite period with a 

 relatively small outlay for fertilizers. He does not, like many 

 grain farmers, rob the farm of its fertility until it will no longer 

 produce paying crops, making it necessary to change the system 

 of farming or to move on to some other section where the same 

 method of selling the fertility of the land can be repeated. Stock 

 farming can be pursued on the same land with excellent results 

 from generation to generation, and for centuries, as is shown by 

 conditions in the agricultural regions of the Old World. 



The livestock farmer utilizes his own labor and that of his 

 family throughout the year, and not only during the growing sea- 

 son. Stock raising in general leads to thrift and develops some 

 of the best qualities in man. His children grow up with young 

 stock and learn to enjoy and love them, and thus in turn acquire one 

 of the fundamentals for successful animal husbandry, an apprecia- 

 tion of good stock and love of animals. Without these qualities, a 

 farmer is not likely to give his stock the watchful care that they 

 require for best results. 



There are various reasons why animal husbandry will continue 

 to be one of the best paying branches of agriculture in America. 

 One is, that our population is increasing considerably faster than is 

 the number of farm animals. This holds true of all classes of 

 livestock, except horses; there has, in reality, been an actual de- 

 crease in the number of cattle, sheep, and swine in this country 

 since the beginning of the present century, while our population in- 

 creased over twenty per cent from 1900 to 1910. 



Another reason why stock raising will prove a profitable busi- 

 ness in the future is the fact that it is not likely to be overcrowded. 

 Stock raising calls for a larger investment than grain farming, and 

 many farmers do not have or cannot secure the necessary capital to 

 engage in animal husbandry; this is true especially of the large 

 and increasing class of tenant farmers in many of the States. 

 Furthermore, it takes from nearly a year to three or four years, 

 according to the system of stock raising adopted, before the invest- 

 ment will yield any revenue. Like people in other walks of life, 

 many farmers lack the necessary business ability and foresight to 

 plan ahead for such a period. If cattle, e.g., are low, and produce 

 little or no revenue one year, it is easy to get discouraged, and 

 many cannot see that such a period is just the time when one should 



