DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS OP PRODUCTION 493 



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than the over-refined mule with, a Thoroughbred or 

 trottingbred dam. Regardless of whether the dam 

 ultimately is used to produce horses or mule mares, 

 he is clamoring for brood mares showing a strong 

 infusion of draft blood. 



"The complaints that have been raised against the 

 Percheron from the southern territory have been 

 made as a result of inferior counterfeits being 

 dumped into the southern states. Quality, finish and 

 courage should be dominant features in all Perch- 

 eron horses sent to the south. "Wherever animals 

 filling these requirements have gone they have made 

 friends for this great breed of horses." 



Horse Stock of the United States. — The estimates 

 of the Department of Agriculture for Jan. 1, 1917, 

 show 21,126,000 horses on farms in the United States, 

 with an average valuation of $l02.94, or a total val- 

 uation of $2,174,629,000, and 4,639,000 mules with 

 an average valuation of $118.32, or a total valuation 

 of $548,864,000. 



The 1910 census, taken June 1, 1910, gives a 

 total of 1,731,982 colts foaled in 1909, or, as we would 

 class them, yearlings. While the estimates of the 

 Department of Agriculture indicate that there has 

 been some falling off in the production of horses 

 within the past 6 years, it seems safe to assume that 

 we are producing at least 1,500,000 foals annually 

 which come to at least one year of age. The 1910 

 census also shows that of the total number of farms 

 in the United States only 16.1 percent reported 

 yearlings, from which we may safely conclude that 

 only 16 percent of the farmers in the United States 

 are producing horses. 



