The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-01-09
The American Beef Supply.

AT recent meeting OF cattle-groWers at
Chicago the Hon. Norman j. Colman,
Commissioner of Agriculture, addressed the
convention upon "The American Beef
Supply"
When the first accurate statistics of the
cattle in this country were collected in 1850
it was found that we had in round numbers
about 1878, 900; in 1860, 1920, 900; in
1870 this number had been reduced to
%, ,S2O 900; in $50 there were 30, ,925, 900,
while in 1885 there are not far from As
100000. If solid column should be
formed twelve animals deep, one end rest
ing at New York city, its center encircling
San Francisco, and its other arm reaching
back to Boston, such a column would con-
tain about the number which now forms
the basis, the capital stock, so to speak, of
the cattle industry of the United States.
The value of these animals is not less than
81 zoo, 100000.
But insidious cattle plaques exist in the
country. To protect from these diseases
State regulations and State restrictions upon
the movement of cattle have been formu-
lated, which during the last year have been
the cause of the most serious disturbance
and loss to those engaged in this industry
in considerable number of States There
are also annoying restrictions on our foreign
trade. And contagious diseases are not
confined to cattle alone The swine indus
try is at this time perhaps the very greatest
sufferer from them, and from all parts of
the country comes up the cry for relief.
Nor are these restrictions upon our foreign
trade confined to cattle alone Our sheep
and swine are also slaughtered on the Eng
lish docks with an even more destructive
effect upon the traffic. The prohibition of
our pork is only too well known; and the
interest in a settlement of the range ques-
ton is shared by the breeders of cattle,
horses and sheep. With you are directly
interested the breeders and owners of the
100000 of horses and mules, of the
50,000,000 of sheep, and of the Al, 100000
of swine. In 1880 our railroads carried
two and one-half times as many tons of
livestock as of cotton. The product of
our animal industry in 1884, including
meat, and labor, and dairy products, and
wool, and lard, and tallow, and hides, ETC.,
was four times as much as the gross earn
ings of all the railroad companies in the
United States. Take the greatest crop
produced in this country-the corn crop
and Y per cent. of that is dependent upon
our animal industry for market. Take the
great hay crop, and there is no other way
to utilize it; and the oat crop, which mostly
goes for animal food. The value of these
three crops, which are marketed as animal
food, of itself reaches 81 100000 a
year. A contagious disease among cattle
will have double effect 1t will increase
the price of meat or other animal products
without benefting any one, because it will
be more expensive to produce it. 1t will
also reduce the value of these enormous
crops have mentioned, because they can
not be fed to the same advantage.
There is an impression throughout the
country that the cattle business has been
developed far beyond what is necessary OF
even prudent, but this is not the case.
Notwithstanding the wonderful increase of
the last fifteen years-an increase which it
is safe to say will never be repeated in the
same time in this country, for the lack of
territory-we have just about the same
number of cattle per thousand inhabitants
that we had in 1850, and less than we had
in 1860 In 1850 we had population of
23,191, ,876 and 17,77S,907 head of cattle,
or 766 cattle to the thousand Inhabitants;
in 1860 we had S14 cattle to the thousand
population; in 1880 we had but 716 head
to the thousand and if we estimate our
population in 1885 at 57,000,000 and our
cattle at "A, 100000, we would only have
772 to the 1000 at this time. In other
words, although our cattle have increased
in an almost fabulous manner, our popula-
ton has increased with equal rapidity. 1t
is, however, only this new region that has
SO recently been developed west of the Mis-
sissippi that has enabled the increase of our
cattle to keep pace with the population.
In 1850 we had in the States east of the
Mississippi 722 cattle to the 1000 inhab-
itants; in 1880 we had but 521 to the
1000. And if we take the Oldest settled
States, like New York and Connecticut, we
can see still more plainly what we are com
ing to in the near future. In 1850 New
York had 606 cattle to the 900 inhab-
itants; in 1880 she had but AGO. In 1850
Connecticut had 575 cattle to the 600
inhabitants; in 1880 she had but $50.
Let us compare the figures for our old
settled States with some of the European
countries according to the latest statistics:
New York 460 cattle to the 1000 inhab-
itants, Connecticut $50, Germany 367,
France BOG, Great Britain and Ireland
297. This shows that our eastern States
are rapidly approaching the condition of
the European countries in the proportion
of cattle to population, and if this proper
ton continues to decrease in New York in
the future as rapidly as it has in the last
thirty years it will be as low as in Germany
within twenty-one years and as low as in
Great Britain and ireland in less than
thirty years