TEMPERATE SURPLUS-PRODUCING REGIONS 51 



farming industry, but that animal husbandry will grow more 

 important as meat-packing establishments and dairy factories 

 become more thoroughly and widely established. 



Canada, as a whole, is far from being an extensive producer on 

 the balance of animal food produce, and the net exports of feed- 

 stuffs, as previously noted, are practically nil. 1 In the year ending 

 March 31st, 1912, the net exports of animal foodstuffs (live food 

 animals, meats, eggs and dairy products) were valued at about 

 30 million dollars, while there were net imports of feedstuffs 

 amounting in value to about 2 million dollars. The comparatively 

 small net exports of animal produce and feedstuffs taken together, 

 rather more than 5 J million pounds in value, are due to the threefold 

 economic structure of Canada with an eastern manufacturing 

 district and a western mining one on either side of the more central 

 food-producing areas. Any growth in the populations of either 

 the manufacturing or the mining district will tend naturally to 

 reduce the exportable surplus. The tendency has already been 

 effective, as an examination of the relative proportions of exports 

 to total production at dates separated by an interval will show. 



TABLE SHOWING THE TOTAL PRODUCTION AND THE EXPORTS OF 



CERTAIN ANIMAL FOODSTUFFS OF CANADA IN SELECTED YEARS 



AND THE PROPORTION OF EXPORTS TO PRODUCTION IN 



EACH CASE. 



It will be seen that there has been a marked decline in the per- 

 centage of exports in all items except cheese, which, however, shows 

 a decline in absolute quantity. The above table, however, does 

 not show all, because between 1900 and 1910 there was a marked 

 decrease in the exports of cattle, and a great rise in the imports of 

 eggs and of butter. 



1 That is without reckoning the milling offals obtained from the exported 

 wheat. 



2 The value of the animals on hand has been taken as approximately equal 

 to that of the total production of pig-meat. 



