LIVE-STOCK. 499 



feeding, requires a quality of judgment that would conduct 

 almost any other branch of productive industry. To be a suc- 

 cessful stock-raiser, one must read, think, calculate, and work. 

 It is no easy task, but requires constant application. The sloth- 

 ful or negligent never succeed at this business. As the country 

 becomes older and more settled, the quality of all kinds of stock 

 becomes improved, for men learn that the best are always in 

 demand, while the poorest are hard to sell. There is a great 

 future for the American stock-raiser; and the progress in that 

 line during the past half century is only an example of what 

 may be expected in the years to come. Nature has placed all 

 the requirements for success in this line within easy reach of 

 the farmer, and those who neglect these opportunities will surely 

 repent when too late. Horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry, 

 should all reach the highest types of perfection here in the 

 United States. The choice of breeds must be a matter of judg- 

 ment with the farmer, and no definite rules can be laid down. 

 Suffice it to say, that, be the number more or less, they should 

 be selected with discretion, cared for attentively, and fed eco- 

 nomically. 



If these rules fail to bring success, the cause must be looked 

 for elsewhere. For the purpose of showing the importance of 

 stock-raising, I quote from the last report of the Department of 

 Agriculture, upon that subject. These tables should be studied 

 with care. 



There has been a feeling for a number of years that more 

 accurate data should be obtained in regard to the number of 

 the range cattle in the various States and Territories. It is 

 probable that no accurate census of the range cattle has ever 

 been secured, and nearly all the estimates, on account of the 

 inherent difficulties of the case, have varied widely from one 

 another, and probably from the true figures. In order to clear up 

 this question somewhat, an effort was made during the year 

 1888 to obtain reliable data from the Western States and 

 Territories. Accordingly, trusted agents of the Bureau, well 

 acquainted with the range-cattle industry, were sent into the field 

 to gather the most accurate figures possible from the cattle- 

 owners' organizations and from other sources of information. 

 The estimates of the Statistical Division of this Department 



