10 



BULLETIN 37, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



pound dried blood. These figures do not include bone or concen- 

 trated tankage from tank water. 



From the figures estimated by the Bureau of Animal Industry as 

 representing the total slaughter of cattle, calves, swine, and sheep 

 in the United States, in 1912, it has been calculated that if all the 

 materials rendered available by this slaughter had been saved and 

 converted into tankage and dried blood they would have produced 

 222,535 tons of tankage and 79,794 tons of dried blood. 



The present supply of tankage and dried blood depends largely 

 on the output of the large packing houses, as the waste from the 

 smaller ones is not so available for use as fertilizer. An increase in 

 the output of these materials depends on the growth in size and 

 number of the large abattoirs and the more complete utilization of 

 the waste from the smaller slaughterhouses. The chances for any 

 considerable development in the former manner are considered rather 

 remote, owing to the settling of lands formerly devoted to the grazing 

 of cattle. With regard to the latter manner of increase speculation 

 perhaps is idle. All things considered, it may be said that the chances 

 for any large immediate increase in the supply of tankage and dried 

 blood appear rather poor. 



In this connection it should be pointed out that in Denmark country 

 killing is being practiced on a cooperative basis in small community 

 abattoirs, with the careful preservation of all the blood and much of 

 the tankage. The introduction of this system among American agri- 

 culturists undoubtedly would result in the increased output of both 

 blood and tankage and should render available for fertilizer and feed- 

 ing purposes the greater proportion of the 75 per cent of these prod- 

 ucts created in country killing and now permitted to go to waste. 



Table XII. — Estimated slaughter of cattle, swine, and sheep during the fiscal year of 1912. 

 [Estimate by Bureau of Animal Industry.] 



Slaughter. 



Cattle. 



Calves. 



Swine. 



Sheep and 

 lambs. 





7, 500, 000 

 5,000,000 



2, 300, 000 

 3, 700, 000 



43, 000, 000 

 23, 000, 000 



12, 500, 000 





2,500,000 







Total 



12, 500, 000 



6, 000, 000 



66,000,000 



15, 000, 000 







In deriving the estimate of yield of tankage and blood from the 

 slaughter represented by the above figures it was assumed that all 

 the tankage and blood were saved from the animals killed by whole- 

 sale and 25 per cent of that from the retail and country killed. It is 

 believed that the former estimate is too great and that not all of the 

 tankage and blood obtainable from the wholesale slaughter is saved, 

 though the greater proportion of this surely is saved. For the amount 



