170 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING 



the valuable land of the middle states than he can 

 realize from any other live stock source, with the 

 possible exception of hogs. 



FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY 



It is from the farm districts that any marked 

 future increase in the total number of sheep in the 

 United States will probably come. The past 40 

 years have witnessed enormous decreases in the 

 number of sheep owned in this section, and the 

 phenomenal increase in the great flocks held upon 

 the western ranges. While this industry in the 

 West has probably not reached its greatest point 

 of development, we can hardly expect such con- 

 tinued increase in the future in this section as there 

 has been in the past. Yet there is an imperative 

 demand for more sheep and for more wool in this 

 country. During the year 1909, in spite of an ex- 

 tremely high tariff on wool, we imported not less 

 than $40,000,000 . worth of raw wool from foreign 

 countries, while lambs selling for 10 cents per 

 pound upon the Chicago market demonstrated an 

 undeniable shortage in the supply of mutton 

 animals for the block. Meat production of all 

 kinds in the United States is decreasing at an 

 alarming rate, and this decrease is rendered more 

 significant when the rapid increase in population 

 and meat-consuming capacity of the country is 

 considered. It has been pretty thoroughly demon- 

 strated that beef cattle cannot be profitably raised 

 on land which commands a market price of $200 

 to $250 per acre, as is the case in many sections 

 of the middle West, yet live stock of some sort 

 must be produced in order to consume the surplus 

 of grain and hay and in order to maintain a con- 



