548 



SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



we would doubtless find that the increase per cow in milk, and particularly 

 in butter-fat, would not be less striking. 



Thirty-five years ago, the usual work-team in the corn belt consisted 

 of two 1000-pound horses. Today, the prevailing team is three 1500-pound 

 horses. This increase in the size of the team has been an important factor 

 in increasing the man unit of production on the farm, and has undoubtedly 

 been one of the factors instrumental in the increase in land values in that 

 region. The following table gives the numbers, value per head and total 

 value of the principal classes of livestock in the United States for 1880 and 

 1915, as reported by the Bureau of Statistics of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture: 



Numbers and Value of Livestock on Farms in the United States 

 in 1915 as Compared with 1880. 



From the above table it will be noted that the total value of livestock 

 in the United States increased from a little more than $1,500,000,000 in 

 1880 to nearly $6,000,000,000 in 1915. During that period, horses and 

 mules doubled in number and quadrupled in value. The increase in num- 

 bers of cows and other cattle did not quite double, while the value per head 

 of the former considerably more than doubled and the latter slightly more 

 than doubled. The increase in numbers of sheep and swine was slightly 

 less marked, but in both of these classes the value per head slightly more 

 than doubled. 



ADVANTAGES OF LIVESTOCK 



Animals Furnish Food, Labor and Clothing. — Even when not profit- 

 able to rear anmals for market, the cost of living on farms may be greatly 

 reduced by the judicious production of livestock and livestock products 

 for the home food supply. The difference between the purchase price of 

 animals and animal products and the price which the producer receives has 

 materially increased during recent years. The value of these products to 

 the farmer for his own consumption is equal, whether bought or produced 

 on the farm. Furthermore, animals and animal products may be produced 

 on a small scale on most farms on what otherwise would be wasted. 



