There are 15 acres of improved land per horse or mule in Illinois and one horse or mule for every three people. For the United States the ratio is about 20 acres of improved land per horse or nude and one horse or mule to every four people. A larger proportion of horses is required in the corn belt than elsewhere because of the frequent cultivation required for corn.
number of cattle in Illinois in 1910 exceeded the number of horses and mules by 36 per cent, while the value of all cattle was but 36 per cent of the value of horses and mules. The distribution of cattle, as clearly shown on the map, is not so even as that of horses. The dairy interests of the extreme northern coun ties and the cattle feed ing carried on in some of the western counties lead to a density of dis tribution along the northern and northwest ern borders of the state which extends beyond Illinois into the great cattle districts of Wis consin and Iowa. This area of larger cattle in terests in Illinois lies, for the most part, north of a line drawn from Chicago to Keokuk, Iowa. South of this line the cattle are distrib uted with an evenness similar to that of horses for the entire state. Here cattle raising is not a specialty but it is important in the general farming practice of the state.
The region of heaviest corn production in Illinois does not have large numbers of cattle, while the state of Iowa, with about the same production of corn as Illinois, has S3 per cent more cattle than Illinois. The Illinois corn belt is so near to Chicago, the chief market for this grain, that a very large pro portion of the Illinois crop is sold as grain. The farmers of western Illinois and of Iowa find it more profitable to feed their corn and market the live stock on which the transportation charges are not so high per unit of value. Pasture land in western Illinois and in Iowa is more extensive than in the chief corn-belt region of east-central Illinois. This is due partly to the topography and partly to the requirements of the animal industries.
The city of Chicago contains two-fifths of the population of the state. Its need for a large supply of fresh milk is met by the great develop ment of the dairy in dustry in northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin. This region has the heaviest distri bution of dairy cattle to be found anywhere in the United States. Not only does this dairy region supply Chicago and other cities with fresh milk, but butter and cheese and con densed milk are also produced.
The principal breeds of dairy cattle in Illinois are the Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey, and Ayrshire.
The production of beef cattle depends on a supply of pasture, hay, and grain rather than on nearness to market. Beef cattle in Illinois are of most importance in the western part of the state and along the southern edge of the corn belt where the distance to the Chicago markets for fresh milk and for grain is sufficiently great to induce the farmer to market his corn in the form of beef, butter, and cheese rather than as grain or fresh milk.
The chief breeds of beef cattle in Illinois are the Shorthorn, Hereford, and Angus.
Hogs.—The distribution of hogs in Illinois is very similar to the distribution of beef cattle. The largest number of hogs are found along the western part of the state and along the southern edge of the corn belt. As in the case of beef cattle this region of denser distribution ex tends across into the corn-belt districts of Iowa and northern Mis souri. Iowa has 60 per cent more hogs than Illi nois. The farm price of corn in Illinois averages about 5 cents per bushel higher than in Iowa and northern Missouri.
The principal breeds of hogs in Illinois are the Duroc-Jersey, Poland China, Chester White, Berkshire, Hampshire, Yorkshire, and Tam worth.
She ep.—Illinois raises 15 per cent of the corn of the United States; S per cent of the hogs; 7 per cent of the horses; 4. per cent of the cattle; but only 2 per cent of the sheep. The 1,000,000 sheep of the state are not strongly localized. Sheep are re ported from every county. Only one county reported fewer than 1,000, and four reported more than 30,000 each.
Among the leading ten sheep-producing states of the United States, only three, Ohio, Michigan, and Missouri, lie east of the one-hundredth meridian. The ability of the sheep to thrive in rough regions with scant pasturage has carried the sheep raising industry to the arid lands of the West, with Montana and Wyoming each raising 10 per cent of the total. Millions of sheep cross Illinois each year on the journey to the Chicago market. Feeding and shearing sheds are maintained at various railroad stations outside of Chicago where as many as 2,000 sheep are sheared in a single day by power-driven shears. The wool for manufac ture and the sheep for mutton are then mar keted separately.