Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1900-04-20
CENSUS OF I'VE STOCK
Arrangements Made for the Collection
of Statistics.

OF STATISTICS.
The live stock interests of the
United States are to be given special
attention in the twelfth census. In
previous enumerations the live stock
on farms and ranges have been enum-
Grated on the farm schedule, but all
other live stock has been disregarded.
This limitation interfered with the
correctness of the census figures and
resulted in Misrepresentation of an inn
portant element in national wealth.
To remove the difficulty congress has
passed a law, approved Feb. l, 1900,
which allows the director of the census
to collect information concerning the
number and kind of live stock not on
FARMS"
For this purpose a special schedule
has been prepared by the census Office,
on which all live stock not ON farms or
ranges are to be reported by the barns
OF enclosures in which they are kept.
BY combining the results of this sched-
Tie with those on the farm schedule,
the Office should obtain a full and ac-
curate picture of the live stock con-
dltions of the United States, June j,
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
the number OF live stock in the coun-
try, by correspondence with its thou
sands of special agents scattered over
the United States. Now, in January,
there are few young animals, and
prices of live stock r high. For
both reasons the average valuation
per head obtained ny the department
of agriculture enumeration tends to
exceed the truth. On the other hand
that department confines it's attention
to farms and ranges, emitting live
stock 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 counterbalance.
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 sched-
ule Classics the neat cattle into those
under one year and those over one.
The second class is divided into steers,
bulls and COWS, the steers being sub
divided into those one and under two,
two and under three, and over three;
the cows being classified into those
n and under two, and those over
two, the latter being subdivided into
those kept for milk and those not kept
for milk.
Horses and mules are classified as
those under one, those n and under
two, and those over two. Sheep are
classified into those under one and
over one, with the distinction in the
latter class into eve and rams and
wethers. The other classes of live
stock, namely, asses and burros, age,
The object of this group Of live
stock is to furnish some basis for esti-
mating the probable increase OF
horses, mules, cattle or sheep in the
near future. The widening of the in
quiry to include live stock not on
farms or ranges has the same end in
view, namely, to afford a survey of the
whole live stock interests of the coun.
try, since animals are constantly pass.
ing from the farms or ranges to the
barns or enclosures and back.
The following table derived from
the statistics of the department of az.
riculture shows the way in which the
number of live stock has been increas.
ing within the last two years:
Number of live stock on farms an(
ranges: