74 
BULLETIN 1390, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
iverage density for the Republic was 00, in 1923 the density was 
94, and in 1924 it was 91 per 1,000 inhabitants, against 86 in 1913. 
Horse and sheep production have been industries more or less fos- 
tered by large estates and by the upper classes of European nations 
generally; among the poorer peasants, the tendency has been to 
produce a larger proportion of cattle and swine. It is noteworthy 
that during the war period horse breeding suffered relatively little in 
Germany. The enumeration of 1922 shows that in spite of the great 
depletiou of the war there were only 116,000 fewer horses in the area 
of the Republic than in 1913, a decrease of only 3 per cent. During 
and after the war period breeding was maintained at a nearly normal 
rate, so that, in 1924 (excluding about 40,000 military horses) there 
were 43.000 more horses in the territories of the Republic of Germany 
than in 1913. 
Goats are the milk animals of the very poor. Able to live and pro- 
duce milk under conditions ruinous to the higher-bred dairy cow, 
goats are a boon to the needy, especially those living in small towns 
and on the outskirts of cities. It is not surprising that under the 
-tress of adverse conditions in Germany during the past few years 
goats have increased in numbers. 
The numbers of fowls kept on farms are subject to <*reat fluctua- 
tion, depending upon market possibilities. It is probable that during 
the war the stocks of fowls on German farms were greatly depleted. 
In 1922 there were nearly 7,000,000 fewer fowls than were found in 
1913 within the territories now composing the Republic. In 1924 
the flocks of geese, ducks, and chickens had so increased that their 
number was only 471,000 below pre-war. 
As a matter of national economy Germany will strive as far as 
possible to produce within the Republic its own meat supplies. 
Under the stimulus of better prices and a larger purchasing public, 
following the industrial revival, recovery of the livestock industry to 
a pre-war status will be rapid. 
The actual as well as the per capita reductions of cattle and swine 
during the period of the war have greatly affected the meat and fat 
supply of Germany. 
Table 56 shows that in 1912 the German Empire produced within 
its own borders 85.5 per cent of its total meat and nonvegetable fat 
requirements (except butter), 87.8 per cent of its butter requirement, 
and 59.2 per cent of its egg requirement. These estimates are for one 
year only and though only approximate they indicate that Germany 
was nearly self-supporting as far as meats were concerned. It will 
be noted that fish was the heaviest item in importations of meat. 
Deducting fish and fish fats from the totals above shows that the 
Empire of Germany produced 93.8 per cent of its total requirements 
of flesh and animal fats. 
