Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-06-23

A Phase Of tho Population Question but
Seldom Considered.

seldom loutlUcroOs
We are accustomed to take into
consideration the population Of a
country or town In thinking or speak
INK Of 1t, but We consider this matter
from somewhat restricted that is,
human-point OF view. Ii we
looked at 1t from an equine point OF
view, and considered countries and
cities as to their horse population,
these regions and places would be
changed about great deal in rank
and Importance. Populous countries
would all at once become thinly In
hablted, and certain great cities
would disappear from the face of the
earth. Thus it would be, also, If We
looked at the matter from the mules
or the pigs or the sleeps point Of
view.
Certain cities OF Eastern Asia, for
Instance, have no horses at all. The
Tuamota archipelago, which extends
In the Pacific Ocean a distance OF
ffteen hundred miles, is put down in
the Official publication Of the United
States Department of Agriculture on
the farm animals of the world as
possessing only two horses They
must be lonesome animals indeed,
unless they are so fortunate as to
have the same owner.
The most populOus horse country
In the world is Russia In Europe.
1t has twenty millions Of horses. The
United States comes next, with a
horse population of more than sixteen
millions
In proportion to the number Of in
habitants, the United States Is far
richer in horses than Russia. But in
that proportion the United States is
in turn far surpassed by the Argen-
tine Republic, where, according TO
the latest accessible figures, there are
few more horses than people.
The countries Of Western and
Southern Europe are thinly populated
with horses, compare with the
American continent and Russia. TIA
ly, with human population OF more
than thirty millions, has only seven
hundred and twenty thousand horses.
But 1t has almost twice as many
mules and donkeys rs horses.
Spain has only few more than
three hundred thousand horses, or
about one horse to every sixty people.
Most OF the cavaliers" Of Spain ride
on donkeys.
The United Kingdom Of Great
Britain and Ireland has only about
two million horses.
The United States Is the most pop
ulous mule country IL the world. 1t
Is also, by many millions, the most
populous pig country, possessing over
forty-six millions OF swine. There Is
here also a larger proportion Of pigs
to the human population than in any
other country-larger even than in
Ireland, a country which is popularity
but mistakenly supposed to be the
Utopia Of the pig.
The country of the sheep, pr ex-
cellence, Is Australia. On that con-
tiheut there are a few more than
three million people, but there are
sixty-two million sheep-that is to
say, twenty sheep to every man,
woman and child.
In the United States we have only
about forty-seven million sheep,
which, though a larger sheep popula-
ton than that Of any other country
except Australia and the argentine
Republic, is not proportiOnately so
great a number as several other cOun-
tries possess.
British India has more cattle than
any other country, but the United
States has almost as many-upwards
Of ffty-two millions. However, the
Argentine Republic again leads In
the number Of cattle in proportion to
human beings. If the cattle In Ar
gentina were divided equally among
all the people, every man, woman and
child would have five cattle to take
care Of, and there would be enough
left to give one additional "critter"
each to almost a million Of the
people.
Considered from the point Of view
of farm animals, the Argentine Re-
public is probably the most important
country in the world.