STOCK-RAISING. Compared with crop-growing, stock-raising is of much more importance in the United States than in European countries. The per capita number of horses, cattle, and hogs is much greater in the United States than in any of the principal European countries. The United States has five times as many hogs. over twice as many cattle, and as many horses as has Euro pean Russia, but the latter leads the United States in the number of sheep. Australia and Argentina are the only prominent countries in which the relative importance of domestic ani mals is greater than in the United States. Of the total value of agricultural products in 1899 more than one-fifth was fed to live stock. In the North Central division one-fourth (in value) of the products was fed to live stock. The following table shows the number and the increase of domestic animals on farms and ranges since 1850: Tennessee, 71.849. The limestone soil of central Kentucky and of the district northward into Ohio contains potash and other chemical ele ments required by the tobacco plant, which gives The foregoing figures do not include the young of animals. Furthermore, the census methods of enumeration have not been uniform. and the figures are therefore only approximately compar able. In sonic instances there has been un certainty as to whether range animals have been included or excluded. Thus. in the decade 1890 1900 the decrease shown for the number of cattle is thought to be mainly if not wholly apparent, and not real. It will be seen in the table that there has been a much more rapid increase in the number of horses and cattle than of swine and sheep. A comparison with the census figures of population will show that, with the exception of horses and mules. the increase in the number- of live stock since 1850 has not kept pace with the increase in population. The following table shows the increase in live stock since 1850: and thus resulted an actual decrease in the num ber of cattle, swine, and sheep. The same has been true of that portion of the South Central division which was productive in 1850. the increase shown for that division being due to the development of new territory in Texas, Indian Territory, and Oklahoma. A large part of this region is in the grazing and grain belt. I.ittle was done prior to the beginning of the nineteenth century to im prove the breeds. By the year 1900 the rate of improvement had become very rapid.
lIonsEs. The most distinctive success attained in American horse-raising has been in the de velopment of a new and superior breed of race In this table will be observed the great predom inance of the North Central division in the num ber of horses. cattle. and hogs. of sheep in the Western division, and of mules in the Southern. Prior to 1850 the prairie areas west of the :Mississippi, and particularly the arid and semi arid region. including the Cordilleras and a broad belt bounding it on the east, had not been gen erally utilized. Settlement thus far had been
mainly in a wooded region in which there was little natural pasture well adapted to cattle, while swine. being more hardy, could shift for themselves in the forest. The South particular ly was much better suited to hogs than to cattle; consequently hogs received much attention west of the Appalachians and in the South. Tennessee, which had the largest number in 1850, had more than the whole North Atlantic division, including as it does New York and Pennsylvania. There was in the latter region much pasture land, and cattle and sheep received considerable attention. As there were no forests to be removed in the West, and the pasture area increased, and the means of transportation opened up the grazing area of the trans-AIississippi region, cattle-raising became of relatively greater and greater im portance. The increase in the use of machinery since 1850 has created a larger demand for horses and mules, which, however, has been somewhat checked since 1890 by electric transportation and the bicycle. Miles are increasing much more rapidly than horses in the South. A remarkable fact shown by the table is that in the South At lantic division there has been. generally speaking, a retrogression in stock-raising. About 1850 cot ton began to dominate the agricultural industry, horses. American racers are now the best in the world. Vermont earl• became well known for the raising of driving horses, but the Blue-grass region of Kentucky now contains a large number of the most famous breeding farms of driving horses in America. (See article HORSE.) In 1895 there were 120,000 registered standard-bred trotters in the United States. From the trotting stock are bred roadsters and coach horses, the European breed of coach horse not being ex tensively bred in the country. The United States has not developed any new breeds of draught horses. but imports stock horses of this kind from Europe. The favorite breeds are the Eng lish draught, Clydesdale, and Percheron. On the whole, the United States is still far behind Great Britain and some other European countries in respect to the proportion which the number of its thoroughbred horses bears to the total number of horses. Until recently the American farmer was inclined to favor a horse for general purposes, but there is now a decided tendency to breed for special purposes—draught. roadsters. coach. racers. etc. The steady growth in the demand for horses prim• to about 1890 resulted in the breeding of the low grade as well as the better class. a condition very much against the improve ment of the breed. The decline in demand and depreciation in price between 1890 and 1s93 checked the breeding of inferior animals, and since then the grade of horses has improved much faster than before.