244 Western Live-stock Management 
Fither is useless without the other. In this improvement 
we see the outlook for the future. The pure-bred sire 
is needed at the head of every commercial herd of stock. 
Stockmen have depended on the pure-bred for the im- 
provement that has been wrought in the past, and this 
improvement has now furnished a type of animal that 
more nearly meets the demand of the market and the 
requirements of economic production. The maximum 
of improvement has not been reached and with the im- 
provement yet to come we will have to depend on the pure- 
bred sire. Grades are good simply because they trace 
back to animals that were pure-bred, and which have 
given them their better type. Mongrels and scrubs lack 
breeding, and therefore lack type. There are also some 
types that might be termed “scrub pure-breds.” These 
animals are not needed because their only prepotency is 
along the lines of the scrub type. Coupled with improve- 
ment which must come by the use of better sires, there 
must also be the improvement that comes by better 
methods of management. In the correlation of these 
facts lies the permanence of the horse industry. 
NUMBERS AND VALUES 
The numbers of horses and mules in the United States 
have practically doubled in the last fifteen years. The 
number is now approximately 25,000,000. In the last 
five years of the period mentioned there has been no great 
change, but in the first ten years the Increase was very 
rapid. This increase in horse production was propor- 
tionately faster than the increase in the population, and 
this may be a reason why there is at present an apparent 
standstill in regard to the numbers. The automobile 
