l6 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING 



The full significance of these statistics is not ap- 

 preciated without the further statement that they 

 represent numerical values only. There has been 

 a very decided improvement in the quality of live 

 stock in the various countries named. A small 

 number of animals now with their increased ef- 

 ficiency equals a large number in former years. An 

 increase in numbers as well as an increase in their 

 efficiency is doubly significant. These statistics 

 will also suggest along what lines changes have 

 taken place in live stock production as population 

 becomes more dense. 



There is a sense in which it is true that the live 

 stock per capita decreases. It is in the early his- 

 tory of a country when the population is small and 

 extensive systems of live stock production largely 

 constitute the agriculture of the country. In such 

 instances population frequently increased more 

 rapidly than live stock. When, however, the con- 

 ditions demand the establishment of intensive forms 

 of agriculture it appears, as in Germany, France, 

 Denmark, Holland, Italy and the British Isles, that 

 there is a tendency with but few exceptions, for live 

 stock per capita to increase rather than decrease. 



I think the above pretty clearly establishes the 

 importance of live stock in farm life, and the aver- 

 age reader is probably convinced by this time that 

 live stock should not be abandoned in the United 

 States and that the thing to do is to so handle farm 

 animals that the returns will be larger. This can 

 be accomplished in a great many ways. In the 

 first place, the animals should be so handled as to 

 produce the largest amount of stable manure. This 

 stable manure should be so taken care of as to give 

 the largest possible increase in grain production 

 on the farms where made. The use of the manure 



