PART I-CATTLE 



INTRODUCTION 



"The cow is the most essential of all man's four-footed 

 friends. Strike beef and milk, cream and butter from the human 

 dietary, and you have dealt a blow at civilization itself. Banish 

 cattle from the grazing grounds of the temperate zones, and you 

 have obliterated one of the world's chief sources of wealth. Elim- 

 inate the herds from the pastures of both hemispheres, and you 

 are on the road to a paralyzing lost fertility. Drive cattle from 

 the ranges of North and South America, and you have turned 

 back millions of semi-arid acres into a wilderness more or less 

 abandoned of God and man." — Alvin H. Sanders in the Breed- 

 er s Gazette. '■ 



The United States leads all other countries in the production of 

 beef and dairy products. Formerly we produced a considerable sur- 

 plus of beef, butter, and cheese which we exported to the value of 

 many millions of dollars annually, but these exports have declined to a 

 marked degree, and though greatly revived during the World War, 

 they have again sharply declined. Imports of these products have in- 

 creased. Note the following table: * 



Imports and exports of beef and dairy products 



Imports Exports 



Cattle — Number: 



. 1900 181,006 397,286 



1921 329,974 145,623 



Beef — Pounds: > 



1900 2,500,000 857,542,000 



1921 51,666,000 228,969,000 



Butter — Pounds: 



1880 487,120 39,236,658 



1921 18,558,388 8,014,737 



Cheese^Pounds: 



1880 2,737,186 127,553,907 



1921 26,866,000 11,772,000 



' Includes veal and edible ofTal. 



The decline in our beef and dairy exports is chiefly due to a popula- 

 tion increasing at such a rapid rate that the increase in home produc- 

 tion of food does not keep parallel with it. The United States had 7 

 millions of people in 1810, 17 millions in 1840, 39 millions in 1870, 76 

 millions in 1900, 92 millions in 1910, and 106 millions in 1920. Further- 

 more, only 26.3 per cent of the population having census occupations 



iNov. 30, 1922, p. 721. 



^Compiled from U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbooks; Handbook of Dairy Statistics, 

 1922. 



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