Part 2

Meanwhile, the Middle West, or corn-belt states, being unable to raise cattle in an economical way, developed into a feeding station, where young cattle from the Western ranges were shipped to be fattened and prepared for the market.

With the decrease of range cattle, year by year, fewer Western beeves reach the corn belt to be finished and made ready for market.

The early settlers of Southern Louisiana raised cattle after the fashion that prevailed on the plains of Texas; that is, great herds without care or attention of any kind increased and multiplied and were annually rounded up and marketed; the returns were virtually all profit, as the cattle found their sustenance entirely in the luxuriant natural pasturage.

With the change of conditions in the cattle-growing world, Louisiana began the improvement of its herds, so that today there are thousands of highly bred cattle in the state, equal to the best that can be found anywhere.

In a consideration of any branch of the live stock industry, a review of the world-wide conditions becomes necessary to establish a standard of comparison between the industry in a given locality as against all other localities, and such a review at the present time shows an international shortage of beef cattle that even threatens famine.

The day of nondescript cattle of inferior quality is rapidly passing. Through breeding, they are being steadily supplanted by higher grade, perfectly developed animals which yield the proper proportions of lean and fat, whose meat is tender, nutritious and palatable.

The Old World breeds have been improved and perfected, through the skill of the American grower, until American stock has become the standard of the whole world, from the standpoint of excellence in every particular.

There are a multitude of reasons why it will never be possible for the growers of the Eastern Hemisphere, with the exception of Great Britain and the Scandinavian countries, to successfully compete with the United States in bringing the standard of their beef cattle up to the high point already attained in this country.

No longer ago than ten years, cattle were not acceptable as collateral except by banks in the Western cattle centers.

Today, cattle are standard collateral for loans, approved by the Treasury of the United States Government and acceptable everywhere, as cattle are as good as gold all over the world; and a cattle enterprise managed with ability and integrity is the safest business known.

There are diseases to which cattle are subject; but these, like the diseases to which mankind is subject, are now controlled by science, and can be quickly eradicated, even though a foothold is once gained; and that a foothold should be gained at all is as much beyond the bounds of reason as that the cities of New York and Chicago should, in this advanced age, be devastated by a scourge of cholera, smallpox, yellow fever, or what not.

According to official estimates of the United States Government, in 1910 there were 41,178,000 head of beef cattle in the United States, having a value of $785,261,000, while on January 1, 1917, there were 40,849,000 head of beef cattle, having a value of $1,465,786,000; a decrease in supply, but an increase in value, within seven years, of 86.66 per cent.

In addition to superior natural conditions, the United States, on account of the great distance to other countries where cattle can be raised successfully, is protected against competition, at all times and under all conditions.

The United States for a quarter of a century was the world's greatest export nation, and this trade has fallen off only in recent times, because of the shortage at home.

Our export business well illustrates the changing conditions in the cattle industry, and the record of live cattle exported from Chicago is a notable example, namely:

Cattle Exports in 1905 321,301 Exports in 1912 23,006 Exports in 1913 260 Exports in 1914 182

This table shows that the export trade was virtually extinct a year before the European War began; and if revived, it will be because of exorbitant prices brought about by the abnormal European demand, due to the depletion of the cattle herds abroad.

Official statistics show that prior to the European War 90.55 per cent of all the European cattle were within the boundaries of the now-belligerent countries.

The records at that time, covering both beef cattle and dairy-herds, were as follows:

Russia 36,237,000 Germany 20,944,000 Austria-Hungary 17,787,883 France 12,286,849 United Kingdom 12,030,789 Turkey 6,726,000 Italy 6,198,861 Rumania 2,667,000 Belgium 1,831,000

Even prior to the war, the world-supply of cattle was diminishing, and now the herds of these nations, representing nine-tenths of the European supply, are depleted as never before, while the one-tenth remaining supply of the neighboring neutral nations is reduced by the drafts of the warring powers.

The immense demand in recent years has caused the marketing of vast numbers of the best improved cattle in the United States, including great inroads upon the breeding herds, as cattle growers have marketed their stock without regard to the future, looking solely to the large immediate profits.

The depletion and deterioration of the breeding herds is a source of great danger, as it cannot fail to result in a still further decrease in production, and threatens to seriously impair the meat supply of the American people.

As an infinitely worse condition prevails in the other cattle-producing countries of the world, it is obvious that we cannot look to any outside source of supply, either to replenish our herds, or to provide our meat food requirements.

The increased cost of production in the North has resulted in the great advancement of the dairying industry, to meet the American food requirements.

In 1850 the milch cows on American farms numbered about 6,000,000. This number was increased to 8,500,000 in 1860, and to about 13,000,000 in 1880; and the census of 1900 showed 17,100,000. In 1907, they numbered 20,625,000, and January 1, 1917, 22,768,000, or more than one-third of our entire cattle herds.

The change from beef-cattle raising to dairying is most noticeable in the Eastern and the North Central States, where the lack of pasturage and the increased cost of forage make the production of beef less profitable than formerly, while the proximity to large centers of population and great cities has greatly stimulated the demand for dairy products.

In some sections of the country dairying has encroached to such an extent on the beef cattle industry that the latter has ceased to be a factor of importance in those localities.