CHAPTER 43 



Advantages and Disadvantages of Keeping Livestock 



Without the aid of domestic animals as beasts of burden, man would 

 have a sorry existence. The horse, ass and camel have been of great service 

 in past ages in aiding man to conquer new regions, and by their aid he has 

 been enabled to very materially increase his productive power. 



Animals have also been a great aid to man as a source of food and 

 clothing. Those countries that depend upon animals and animal products 

 the most are, as a rule, the most productive and highly civilized. In 

 North America animal products, such as meat, milk, butter, cheese, lard, 

 eggs, etc., constitute fully one-half of the value of the products of human 

 consumption. 



A large part of the vegetation on the earth is unsuited for human 

 consumption. Of this, such by-products as straw and stover are converted 

 into milk, butter, cheese, meat and animal fats. It is estimated that 80 

 per cent of the corn produced in the United States is consumed by livestock 

 in the county where produced. This conversion of crude farm products 

 adds greatly to the quality of man's diet. 



The essential characteristics of domesticated animals are: (1) their 

 ability to convert food into energy and animal products for human use, 

 (2) the readiness with which they become subject to the will of man, 

 and (3) their prolificacy or ability to breed abundantly. 



Value and Importance of Livestock. — The United States and Canada 

 with 28,000,000 horses, 63,000,000 cattle, 51,000,000 sheep and more than 

 62,000,000 swine, is pre-eminently a livestock country. South America 

 leads in the production of sheep with 115,000,000 and ranks third in cattle 

 with 48,000,000. It falls to India to lead in cattle production, which, 

 including the water buffalo, numbers 125,000,000 head. The United States, 

 however, far outranks all other countries in its numbers of horses, mules 

 and swine. It is second in production of cattle and sheep. 



During the past half century, the livestock in the United States has 

 increased about three times in numbers and about six times in value. 

 While numbers have not quite kept pace with increase in population, the 

 value per capita has steadily increased. This increase in value has been 

 due chiefly to two factors: (1) the improvement in livestock, and (2) the 

 increased value per unit of weight of animals and animal products. In 

 1850 the average fleece of a sheep weighed 2.4 pounds; in 1900 it had 

 increased to 6.9 pounds. During the fifty years sheep nearly doubled in 

 number, while the yield of wool increased five times. This increase was 

 due chiefly to breeding rather than feeding. If statistics were available, 



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