Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-05-04
LIVE STOCK CENSUS.
Interesting Statistics to Be Gathered This
Var


Year.
The census bureau has just issued
the following information concerning
the attention to be given the livestock
industries, which will be of interest to
all stockmen of this section:
The livestock interests of the United
States are to be given special attention
in the 18th census. In previous enum-
erations the livestock on farms and
ranges have been enumerated on the
farm schedule. but all other livestock
have been disregarded. This limitation
interferred with the correctness of the
census figures and resulted in misrep-
resentation of an important element in
national wealth. To remove the diff
Guilty congress has passed a law, ap-
proved February l, 1900, which allows
the director of the census to collect in
formation concerning the number and
kinds of livestock not on farms. For
this purpose a special schedule has been
prepared by the census office, on which
all livestock lot on farms or ranges are
to be reported by the barns or the in
closure in which they are kept. By
combining the results of this schedule
with those on the farm schedule, the
office should obtain an accurate picture
of the livestock conditions of the United
States, June l, 1900.
This improvement will be of value
not merely for itself, but because the
department of agriculture each year
makes an enumeration or estimate of
by corresponding with its thousands of
special agents scattered over the Unit
ed States. Now, in January, there are
few young animals and prices of live
stock are high. For both reasons, the
average valuation per head obtained by
the department confines it's attention to
farms and ranges, emitting livestock in
barns and Enclosures. The latter class
are worth rather more on the average
per head than the former. These two
sources of error thus tend to counter
| balance.
The animals are to be classified by
| age. somewhat as the people of the
| United States, but, of course, with
| much less detail. The special schedule
| classifies the meat cattle into those I'M
| der one year and those over one. The
/ second class is divided into steers, bulls
and cows; the steers being subdivided
into those one and under two, two and
under three, and over three; the cows
/ being classified into those one and I'M
| der two, and over two, the latter be-
+ ing subdivided into those kept for milk
F and those not kept for milk.
Horses and mules are classified as
1 those under one those n and those
| over two. Sheep are classified into
| those under one and over one, with the
| distinction in the latter class into ewes
| and rams and wethers. The other class
| es of live stock, namely, asses and bur-
| ros, swine and goats, are not classified
by age.
The object of this grouping of live
stock is to furnish some basis for esti-
mating the probable increase of horses,
mules, cattle or sheep in the near flu
ture. The widening of the inquiry to
include live stock not on farms or
ranges has the same end in view, name
ly, to afford a survey of the whole live
stock interests of the country, since
animals are constantly passing from
the farms or ranges to the barns or in
closures and back.
The following table, derived from the
statistics of the department of agricul-
ture, shows the way in which the num-
Der of live stock has been increasing
within the last two years:
Number of live stock on farms and
and ranges:
Sheep-1S9S. 81, 656, $50; 1899, 80, ia, 453;
1900, 1883, 065; increase in two years,
1926, 105.
Milk cows-1S9S, 15,S40, 1856; 1899, Is, $780,
lis; 1900, 49, 92, $50; increase in two
years, 5 1,474.
Other cattle-189S, &c. 64, 1877; 1899, o.
$40. 225; 1900, 27,61O. O54; decrease in two
years, 1854, 143.
Mules-1s9S, 2,257,6 65; 1899, 2,1S4,21S
1900, 1857, 524; decrease in two years,
1871, 63S.
Horses-1S9s, 1850, GIL; 1899, 1885,
3O7; 1900, 10, 537, 524: decrease, 423, 1887.
Total-1S9S, 9s, $3.50, 619; 1899, S,S9S, 31s;
1900, 591, 400, O2O.
Total increase in two years, 4,677, 579.
1t will be noticed that the estimated
number of live stock, including swine,
| goats, asses and burrOs, in the country,
has increased over 1900, 900 in the last
two years, and 1t must be borne in mind
that these figures apply to farms and
ranges only.
| The value of the same classes of live
| stock, according to estimates from the
same source, has increased both be-
cause the number has grown and be-
cause the value per head has risen, the
net addition to the wealth Of the coun-
try from this source in the last two
years being nearly one-third of 81, O00,-
600, 900. The total value on this national
asset at the present time, including
| with these classes of live stock, asses
n burros, swine and goats, and the
I animals off the farms and ranges, is
probably not less than SO, 900, 900. 900.