118 The Dawn of a New Constructive Era 



duced. The high-priced corn belt farms produce tremendous 

 quantities of corn stover and large amounts of straw. Formerly 

 these products were largely wasted, but the necessity to get re- 

 turns on the heavy investment now requires their conservation. 

 The silo, the stover shredder, rations in which straw forms an 

 important part, and other methods of conservation have become 

 necessary. Nothing takes the place of cattle in so utilizing 

 coarse, unmarketable forage. Whether the cattle will be used 

 for beef production or dairy production depends entirely upon 

 labor, marketing and transportation conditions. 



The problem of the economy of pork production in the 

 South is solved to a large extent. The increase in the number of 

 hogs in Southern territory has been a striking feature of the 

 agriculture of that section during recent years. One of the most 

 interesting reports of this character is found in the percentage 

 of hogs in the country on January 1, 1916, as compared with Jan- 

 HoQ Produc- ^^^y ^> 1915. At that time there were fourteen states which re- 

 tion in South ported an increase of ten per cent, or more in the number of hogs 

 Increasing on January 1, 1916. Of these fourteen states, only two were 

 strictly corn belt states, and of the remaining twelve, five were 

 Southern states, namely. South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 

 Louisiana and Texas. The increase during the last calendar year 

 was not so pronounced, largely on account of the high prices for 

 hogs prevailing during the year 1916, but there is no reason to be- 

 lieve that the tendency in Southern states to increase the number 

 of hogs has yet reached its maximum. 



For convenient reference I am including here a table of 

 figures from the Department of Agriculture, showing the increase 

 in the number of hogs in Southern s4;ates from 1914 to 1917. 



NUMBER OF HOGS JANUARY 1. 



