AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF EUROPE I GERMANY 
89 
POSTWAR CATTLE SITUATION 
As a result of the conditions of heavy demand for meat supplies 
during the war and the unsettled state of economic conditions fol- 
lowing the treaty of Versailles, the numbers of cattle have diminished, 
but not to the extent that might be expected. (Table 71.) Breeding 
stock was maintained well up to pre-war level, there being within 
the present boundaries of the Republic, in 1922 only 17.7 per cent, 
in 1923 only 16.7, and in 1924, 11.8 per cent fewer cows than in 1913. 
There appears to have been a general tendency throughout Germany 
to maintain the livestock industry nearer to the level of the pre-war 
status than was the case with the cereal production. The production 
of livestock in Germany is limited to the quantity of forage the 
German farmers are able to produce, and this will always be measured 
by utility — whether meat or bread cereals give the most profitable 
returns from a given area. 
Although the total numbers of cattle on hand December 1 de- 
creased only 11.7 per cent in 1922, 12.9 in 1923, and 6.4 in 1924 as 
compared with 1913, the increase in population has brought the 
density (number of head per 1,000 inhabitants) down to 17.5, 19.4, 
and 14.1 per cent, respectively, below pre-war. 
Table 71. — Cattle: Number in Germany, 1922-24, «s 
compared with 
1918 l 
Item 
Unit 
Boundaries of 1923 
1913 
1922 
1923 2 
1924 
Number of cows 
Thousand.. _ 
do 
9,973 
8,503 
8,206 
8,110 
8,308 
7,783 
8,796 
Other cattle... 
8,500 
do 
Total cattle 
18, 476 
16,316 
16, 091 
17, 296 
Drop in number below pre-war: 
Cows . 
do 
1,767 
393 
1,665 
720 
1,177 
Other cattle 
do 
3 
do 
Total cattle 
_. 2,160 
2,385 
1.180 
Per cent of drop: 
Cows 
17.7 
4.6 
16.7 
8.5 
11.8 
Other cattle 
do_ 
do 
Total cattle... 
12.9 
6.4 
Per 1,000 inhabitants: 3 
Cows 
Number 
do 
173 
147 
133 
131 
133 
125 
140 
Other Cattle.... 
135 
Total cattle.. 
...do. 
320 
264 
275 
1 Census as of Dec. 1. 
2 The number of cattle in Germany on Oct. 1, 1923, was 16,691,000, from which was subtracted the slaugh- 
tering during October and November to obtain the number on hand Dec. 1. 
3 For populations see Table 19. 
ORIGIN OF THE CATTLE IMPORTED TO COVER DEFICIT 
Before the war the German Empire imported large numbers of 
cattle from Denmark and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The post- 
war economic conditions within Germany, coupled with the greatly 
reduced purchasing power of the people and the general consequent 
reduction in the use of meat in the diet in urban and industrial cen- 
ters, reacted to cut down the importation of animals for slaughter, 
but when prorated over the population this drop in importation is 
not of great significance, being only 2 animals per 1.000 inhabitants 
in the season of 1921-22, 2.6 animals in 1922-23, and 2.5 in 
1923-24, as shown in Table 72. 
